Josh Thomas (footballer, born 2002)
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joshua John Thomas[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 24 September 2002[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Bridgend, Wales[3] | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[4] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Derry City (on loan from Swansea City) | ||
| Number | 17 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2014–2020 | Swansea City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020– | Swansea City | 1 | (0) |
| 2021 | → Cardiff Metropolitan University (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | → Port Vale (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | → Bromley (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2025 | → Drogheda United (loan) | 12 | (3) |
| 2026– | → Derry City (loan) | 1 | (1) |
| International career | |||
| 2017 | Wales U15 | ||
| 2018 | Wales U16 | 1 | (0) |
| 2018 | Wales U17 | 5 | (1) |
| 2019 | Wales U19 | 5 | (1) |
| 2020 | Wales U20 | 1 | (0) |
| 2023–2024 | Wales U21 | 10 | (2) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15:29, 10 February 2026 (UTC) | |||
Joshua John Thomas (born 24 September 2002) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a forward for League of Ireland Premier Division club Derry City, on loan from EFL Championship club Swansea City. He is a former Wales under-21 international.
A pacey forward capped by Wales up to under-21 level, Thomas turned professional at Swansea City in 2020. He joined Cardiff Metropolitan University (Cardiff Met) on loan in January 2021, though he suffered a serious injury later in the year. He was loaned to Port Vale for the first half of the 2023–24 season, to Bromley for the 2024–25 season. He joined Irish club Drogheda United for the 2025 season and returned to Ireland on loan with Derry City the following year.
Joshua John Thomas was born in Bridgend on 24 September 2002.[2] He only started playing football at ten, having previously played rugby union.[5]
Club career
Swansea City
Thomas joined the youth system at Swansea City at the age of 12 and went on to sign a scholarship in 2019, having scored in the under-19's FAW Welsh Youth Cup final victory over The New Saints.[6][3] He was nominated for the October 2019 Premier League 2 Player of the Month award.[7] He signed professional terms with the club after scoring a hat-trick for the under-23 team in 2020.[3]
Cardiff Metropolitan University loan
On 31 January 2021, he joined Cymru Premier club Cardiff Metropolitan University on loan for the rest of the 2020–21 season, alongside Matthew Blake.[8] However, he was then sidelined for 18 months due to injury, having suffered an ankle deltoid ligament injury in a car accident.[9] He signed an 18-month contract extension in September 2022 after starting the season on a short-term deal.[10] He managed to regain good form for the under-21 team during the 2022–23 campaign, scoring 23 goals.[11]
Port Vale loan
On 2 August 2023, he joined EFL League One club Port Vale on loan for the 2023–24 season after scoring five goals for the Swans senior team in pre-season.[11] He made his debut three days later, coming on as a 56th-minute substitute for Gavin Massey in a 7–0 defeat at Barnsley.[12] He scored his first senior goal on his home debut at Vale Park, a 3–2 victory over Fleetwood Town in the EFL Cup on 8 August.[13] He tore a muscle on international duty in November 2023, which kept him out of action for close to four weeks.[14] He suffered setbacks on the injury and also became ill over Christmas, causing him to miss an extra month of action.[15] He was recalled by Swansea from his loan spell on 4 January 2024, with Port Vale's director of football David Flitcroft blaming international call-ups and injuries for restricting the player's game time to 15 appearances in all competitions, during which he scored three goals and created two assists.[16]
Bromley loan
On 30 August 2024, Thomas joined EFL League Two club Bromley on a season-long loan after having signed a new contract with Swansea earlier in the day.[17][18]
Drogheda United loan
On 17 January 2025, he was loaned out to Drogheda United for their 2025 League of Ireland Premier Division campaign.[19] He scored a total of six goals in 17 appearances in all competitions during his loan spell.[20] He impressed despite missing five months with a quad injury and was then reportedly targeted by Derry City to return to the league on loan.[21]
Derry City loan
On 19 January 2026, Thomas returned to the League of Ireland Premier Division on an initial six-month loan deal with Derry City until the end of June.[22][23]