West Ham United obviously felt that Sorba Thomas did not have what it took to reach the highest level. The Stoke City talisman, then, may yet have the last laugh.
Because there is a very real possibility that Thomas leapfrogs the Hammers this summer; moving up to the Premier League while Nuno Espirito Santo’s side slip through the trapdoor.
On the other hand, If West Ham United survive at Tottenham, Leeds or Nottingham Forest’s expense – and if rumours of Everton’s interest are true – the Welsh wing wizard could return to East London with a point to prove, a score to settle, and statistics to inflate.
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Wolverhampton Wanderers' Jose Sa punches clear under pressure from West Ham United's Max Kilman during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United at Molineux on January 3, 2026 in Wolverhampton, England.
Sorba Thomas has been ‘outstanding’ for Wales and Stoke over the last 12 months. In fact, during the Easter weekend, he became the first player in the Championship to record a ‘double-double’.
This means he is the first across the 2025/26 season to reach double figures for both goals and assists.
Sorba Thomas deserves Premier League chance after West Ham United exit
If you add his Wales returns to his terrific Potters tally, Thomas has actually recorded 12 goals and 15 assists since the end of the 2024/25 campaign. To quote EFL expert Ali Maxwell, on the Not the Top 20 podcast, Thomas’ crosses are ‘absolutely deadly’.
There has even been a number of occasions when the late-blooming assist king has whipped a ball into the area with such pace and precision that it has ended up curling all the way in past a despairing goalkeeper.
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Some call these sorts of goals ‘accidental’. When you are doing it multiple times in the same campaign, however, it’s fair to assume that this is more than a happy little accident.
Stoke City v Wrexham AFC - Sky Bet Championship
Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images
“Thomas has been an outstanding addition to the squad,” BBC Stoke reporter Mark Elliott wrote in the autumn. “[His] energy and dribbling ability has given Stoke a consistently viable outlet when defending and, accused of sometimes lacking concentration early in his career, his defensive work has improved significantly too.
“He’s an important player for Wales now too, and well on his way to setting career best marks for goals and assists in a season.”
Thomas said Hammers release was a ‘smack in the face’
Your typical late-bloomer, a now-27-year-old Thomas had only recorded five league goals once, and that came for non-league Boreham Wood in 2019/20. The current season, then, has seen him double his previous-best return, while equalling a career-high 12 assists.
While Crysencio Summerville has blossomed into a talismanic presence for West Ham down the left, Thomas has done the same, in a similar position, in Staffordshire.
After spells at Huddersfield Town, Blackburn Rovers and Nantes when his talent shone through only intermittently, there is now a consistency to a man who described his release by West Ham as a ‘smack in the face’.
“That was the first time I was told I wasn’t good enough,” Thomas told the BBC in 2021, reflecting upon his Hammers departure at the age of 16. “I didn’t take it well. I didn’t really want to play anymore.
“I kind of fell out of love with the game and tried to look at Plan Bs. My family and friends knew how much I wanted to be a pro footballer and getting back on the horse was hard.
“I started a little Sunday League team for a few months and tried to find the love again. I went to Boreham Wood and success started there really.”
West Ham released Sorba Thomas at 16…
What would you say if the Hammers to bring him BACK? 🚀
Sorba Thomas of Stoke City applauds the fans after the final whistle during the Sky Bet Championship match between Stoke City and Sheffield Wednesday at Bet365 Stadium in Stoke On Trent, United Kingdom, on April 3, 2026.
It has been quite the rise, both for Boreham Wood and for Sorba Thomas.
West Ham loanee Josh Landers opened his Boreham Wood account on Monday; the Hertfordshire side a play-off campaign away from becoming a Football League side for the very first time.
Thomas, meanwhile, has been linked with a move to David Moyes’ Everton. Stoke may be set for another underwhelming mid-table finish – 13th at the time of writing – but Thomas feels like a Premier League footballer in waiting.
And for those who question his credentials, remember, it’s not long ago that people were wondering if he could cut it in the Championship…
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