Another 22-year-old shown exit door as star surely won’t play for Leicester City again

Tuesday night’s resounding 5-0 victory over Southampton has left Leicester City on the brink of an immediate return to the Premier League, with just one victory in their final two matches enough to secure them automatic promotion.

The Foxes have stuttered in their promotion push of late, but have regained form at exactly the right time to get themselves within a whisker of getting over the line, and secure top flight football after just one year away.

With just two weekends remaining in the Championship season, Enzo Maresca’s side will have to make some key decision over the next few weeks about the future of a number of players at the club, with a handful of names set to leave in the summer.

One of those looks likely to be Luke Thomas, with the defender failing to impress while on loan at fellow second division side Middlesbrough over the course of the current campaign.

Luke Thomas Leicester City contract information

The 23/24 season hasn’t been one to particularly remember for Thomas, with a spell on loan at Premier League basement side Sheffield United followed by an underwhelming stint on Teesside in 2024.

After featuring 12 times in the top flight for a Blades side that looked destined to be playing in the Championship next season, the 22-year-old made the move to The Riverside and has featured just ten times since that January switch.

The writing looks on the wall for the England youth international at the King Power Stadium, having not featured for the Foxes since the final day of their doomed Premier League campaign, with the likes of James Justin and Ricardo Pereira preferred on the flanks.

With his contract set to expire at the end of June and no signs of a new deal being handed to the defender, it looks as if he will be on the search for a new club in the summer; leaving his boyhood club behind as he searches for pastures new.

Thomas made his debut for the club back in 2020 – just a month after his 19th birthday – as he was thrown in from the start against Sheffield United in the COVID-19 hit season that was played behind closed doors.

The young defender soon became something of a regular in the Foxes side over the following seasons, with regular appearances in domestic and European competitions, as he netted his first goal for the club in a 3-3 Europa League draw with Braga.

After 17 appearances in their relegation season last year, Thomas was the subject of transfer interest from a number of sides, with Leeds United among the clubs reported to be interested in bringing him in.

It was the Blades that won the race for his signature though, as the defender tried in vain to help their plight in the top flight, before new boss Chris Wilder played a part in ending his season-long loan deal early in January.

The move to Boro hasn’t helped in boosting his reputation in the second-half of the season, with only six starts in the last three months hampering his progress ahead of what looks likely to be a summer departure from the King Power Stadium.

Enzo Maresca comments spell out Luke Thomas Leicester City future

Despite having plenty of promise at the start of his career, Thomas’ prospects have dimmed somewhat over the past couple of years, and his options might be limited compared to this time next year.

Thomas may join fellow fullback Victor Kristiansen out the door in the summer, with the Dane impressing in Serie A with Bologna, with Maresca [pictured] outlining earlier in the season that the pair need to adapt to fit into his specific system implemented since his arrival.

“For sure as you say, they are two clear full-backs that in our system, they need to learn many things and to adapt,” he said.

“We are trying to do it but at the same time we understand that the best qualities for them is to play as a full-back. It’s the way they have played all of their lives. We are trying to teach them some concepts.”

With Premier League promotion within their grasp, it looks as if the Foxes may explore new options in the summer, as well as keep the likes of Justin and Pereira tearing down the flanks.

That makes another deal for Thomas look all the more unlikely, with another Championship move likely to be his next move, and he can get back to playing on a more regular basis for a club in the second tier.

If the defender can put the last 12 months behind him, he can flourish once again next season if he gets a solid run in an EFL team; with Premier League potential just waiting to be unleashed.