No doubting, Thomas is special
MY FIRST GOAL FOR CITY WAS A DREAM COME TRUE, SAYS LUKE
LUKE Thomas has quickly become a very valuable member of the Leicester City squad, said manager Brendan Rodgers after the teenager scored his maiden goal for the club.
The 19-year-old academy graduate popped up in the box to score the second of City’s three equalisers at Braga on Thursday night in what was his ninth outing for his hometown side.
Injuries to Ricardo Pereira and Timothy Castagne have allowed Thomas to be involved at wingback this season after his surprise introduction at the end of the last campaign, and Rodgers said he’d taken his chance to become a key member of the first-team squad.
“Of course (the goal) will give him huge confidence,” said Rodgers.
“In the position he plays, he’s a very good defender. For a young guy, he’s very brave and has great courage, and you see with the quality of his football that he’s a very good footballer.
“We’ll just encourage him. Part of that role in that position is to get up there and create and score goals. I’m delighted for him.
“He’s been with us since we came back towards the end of last season and has become a very valuable member of our squad.
“He still has a lot of improvements and a lot of development to make but that will come with experience and time.
“But it’s a great moment for him to get his first goal.”
There can be few better feelings for a lad from Syston than scoring for City, and Thomas said it was a “dream come true”.
He also feels like the European away days are helping him become a more established part of the squad.
“(The goal was) very special,” he told LCFC TV. “It’s obviously a dream come true with Leicester being my hometown.
“Obviously, playing for Leicester is the best feeling that there could possibly be.
“Getting my first goal for the club, I’m over the moon with it.
“Playing European football and travelling away with lads, it’s great for me because I get to be with the squad a lot more and I get days where we’re just not really doing a lot, and I can get to know the lads a lot better throughout the time.
“Then to play in Europe is the best feeling I’ve had.
“I’m over the moon with how it’s going so far.”
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