Soccer
Meet the latest National League product to rise to the Premier League
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The National League has been a breeding ground for some of football's biggest talents, and now another graduate has joined the ever-growing list.
Last season, Antoine Semenyo's rise came into focus after completing his move to Premier League giants Manchester City, eight years after representing Non-League outfit Bath City.
Jamie Vardy, Jordan Pickford and Jarrod Bowen are among the other names to have forged their trade below the EFL, in what is one of the country's most competitive divisions.
On transfer deadline day, a former Boreham Wood man completed his move to the top flight as DAZN News analyses his rise up the leagues.
Sorba Thomas completes Hull City move
Sorba Thomas was one of the outstanding performers in the Championship last season, bagging 10 goals and 13 assists for a struggling Stoke City side.
The left winger was not only named the Potters' Player of the Season, but he was also selected in the Championship Team of the Season alongside the likes of Hayden Hackney, Carl Rushworth and Zan Vipotnik.
Stoke tried desperately to hold onto the 27-year-old but were powerless to accept a significant offer from Hull City, with the deal going through in the dying embers of deadline day.
"Buzzing to be here," Thomas said about the transfer. "Feel like it's third time lucky. There were opportunities in the past, but it's an amazing opportunity, and I can't wait to get going."
The Tigers have taken six points from their opening two games against Manchester United and Coventry City and are aiming to emulate Sunderland's exploits and survive as the play-off-winning team.
From Boreham Wood to Premier League in five years
In September 2017, Thomas made his debut for National League side Boreham Wood, a five-minute cameo against Maidenhead United.
The winger played 16 minutes that campaign before becoming a first-team regular the following season, notching four goals in 32 appearances.
Thomas signed a new contract at Meadow Park in 2019 and was afforded strong praise from chairman Danny Hunter.
“Sorba is a fantastic young player and a prospect in the mould of, say, a Bruno Andrade, though possibly a tad stronger and quicker at the same age," Hunter told the club website.
“I sense that they both [Luke Garrard and Cameron Mawer] now feel they need to let him off the leash to see how he adapts.”
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After establishing himself as a National League talent, the Wales international left the Wood for Huddersfield Town in 2021, where he took his game to another level, notching three goals and 16 assists in the 2021/22 season as the Terriers reached the Championship play-off final.
It was not always an upwards trajectory, though, as Thomas experienced underwhelming loan spells with Blackburn Rovers and Nantes before the best goalscoring season of his life with Stoke.
Having started his career with the West Ham academy, Thomas finally has the opportunity to make his mark on the grandest stage in a side who are punching above their weight.
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