Huddersfield Town transfer news: Sorba Thomas starts friendly despite reports of loan move

The winger played the first half of the game in Austria, which the Terriers won 2-1 with goals from Matty Pearson and Ben Wiles.

This was despite reports by French sports newspaper L'Equipe that agreement had been reached with Ligue 1 Nantes for Thomas to play across the Channel next season.

Thomas has eight Wales caps and has built a strong reputation as one of the Championship's leading goal-makers, so it was always likely he would move on once the Terriers were relegated to League One in May.

He joined from Boreham Wood in January 2021, but the exuberant personality has had an up and down time with the West Yorkshire club.

He was a key figure in the side Carlos Corberan took to third in the Championship in 2022, largely starring in a wing-back role which forced him to slightly curb his natural attacking instincts. He contributed three goals and 13 assists that season.

Things did not click in the same way with Mark Fotheringham, who replaced Danny Schofield early into a difficult 2022-23 campaign, and Thomas was loaned to Blackburn Rovers in January, shortly before the arrival of Neil Warnock – a decision the veteran manager lamented.

Despite the positive way that campaign ended, things were no easier last season, and when Town were relegated at the end of it, their third "permanent" manager of it, Andre Breitenreiter was highly critical of the attitudes of some players.

The German never named names but Thomas was one of three high-profile players left out of the squad for the final match of it, at Ipswich Town, with Huddersfield needing a goal difference miracle to avoid relegation.

Before the match Breitenreiter, who has since left to be replaced by Michael Duff, explained he would “take just the players to travel with us to Ipswich who we think are the right [ones], because some players are on loan, or some players are thinking maybe in their head that they left the club."