Huddersfield Town are having to prepare for life in League One after they suffered a torrid 2023-24 campaign, finishing 23rd in the league with a meagre 45 points.
The drop to the third tier of English football for the first time since 2011-12 means that key players will inevitably move on – and some already have.
So far, we have seen just one significant departure with Jack Rudoni being sold to Coventry City for £5 million. Whilst a large fee for a League One club, had the Terriers retained their Championship status then they could have demanded well in excess of that price.
With Rudoni’s departure, attentions will turn to their other candidates who are searching for a move away from the John Smith’s Stadium. One of these players is Sorba Thomas, who has been a mainstay in the Huddersfield side since signing in 2021.
Unfortunately for fans of the Yorkshire club, it appears that the winger could be closing in on a move to Ligue 1 outfit Nantes, with the French side on the verge of securing his signature – if they can agree a payment structure.
This transfer is not surprising, but the fee demanded by the Huddersfield hierarchy seems like a significant undervaluation.
Huddersfield’s £1 million valuation of Sorba Thomas comes as a surprise
After signing from National League side Boreham Wood in January 2021, many wouldn’t have expected Thomas to prove his Championship credentials so early, but that he did.
In his first full season, which was the 2021-22 Championship campaign, the Welshman managed 19 goal contributions in all competitions as he helped Huddersfield finish fourth in the second tier.
Despite not hitting these heights since, he has continued to be a threat, and his assist record speaks for itself.
Far too good for League One, a move away from Huddersfield seems imminent with Nantes supposedly meeting the £1 million valuation that Thomas holds.
Whilst the Canaries can’t speak to Thomas until they agree a deal with Huddersfield, you struggle to see why he would turn down an opportunity to play in Ligue 1 against clubs like PSG, Marseille and Lyon.
For the Welsh wizard, this is a brilliant chance to further his career, but the club have seriously underestimated his true worth if you look at some underlying figures.
Staggering Sorba Thomas statistics show he’s worth more than £1 million
Goals in football often define the face value of an attacking player, but scouts from interested clubs will have been looking well beyond his scoring record.
With just seven goals in his Terriers career, this is not an element of Thomas’ game that he thrives in. Instead, it is his creative magic which causes teams problems, with his 31 assists in 125 games in all competitions an impressive tally.
Looking past this, his underlying statistics display a player that is of a top-level Championship standard. Last season, in 41 second-tier appearances, he managed to create the most chances (123) and also had the highest expected assists – 13.31 – of any midfielder in the division. In fact, he should have accrued four more assists based on the chances he created.
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