1204 Sorba Thomas

Biography

Sorba Thomas was a pacy left winger that joined the Tigers in September 2026 for a £7 million fee and made his debut in the Premier League a few days later – this was his first career appearance in the English top flight. A fortnight after signing he announced himself to the world media by rolling his car on the approach to City’s training ground, but there was no harm done and he quickly became a dangerous finisher, that is the late substitute version of that term, for Sergej Jakirovic’s squad.

Benjamin Sorba William Thomas was born to parents of Sierra Leone and Welsh heritage in Barking, East London. He was associated with the academy at West Ham United until his release at the age of sixteen. He joined the academy at National League side Boreham Wood in July 2016 and sat as an unused first team substitute for the first time in November 2016. In September 2017 Sorba made his senior debut for Boreham Wood against Maidenhead United and remained on the fringes of the first team throughout the 2017/18 season – in January 2018 he spent a month on loan at Isthmian League side Cheshunt, making 2 appearances. In May 2018 he came on for the closing minutes of the National League play-off final played at Wembley Stadium, which saw Boreham Wood lose to Tranmere Rovers.

During the 2018/19 season Thomas gradually became a first team starter and scored his first goal for the club. In September 2019 he scored his first goal for the club against Stockport County and ended the 2019/20 season with five goals. Now an established part of the Boreham Wood first eleven, Thomas continued to shine during the first half of the 2020/21 season – his final appearance for the club came in an FA Cup tie against Millwall in January 2021, which took his tally to eight goals in 86 appearances during four and a half seasons.

In January 2021 Sorba joined Championship side Huddersfield Town and made his Football League debut in February 2021 against Wycombe Wanderers, he was introduced gently to the first team during the last few months of the 202/21 season. he broke into the Terriers’ first eleven at the start of the 2021/22 season and scored his first goal for the club in August 2021 against Reading. In May 2022 Thomas started the Championship play-off final that ended in narrow defeat to Nottingham Forest. During the first half of the 2022/23 season, with Thomas still in the first team, Huddersfield struggled in the relegation zone and were looking to cash in on their valuable assets – in January 2023 he joined Championship rivals Blackburn Rovers on a half-season loan, he made 17 appearances for Rovers but ended the season on the subs’ bench as the club fell just short of the play-offs places.

Returning to Huddersfield Town for the 2023/24 season, Sorba and was practically an ever-present as the Terriers slipped to relegation to League One, he took his tally for the club to seven goals in 125 appearances. With Thomas’s stock now high, he spent the 2024/25 season on loan at French Ligue 1 side Nantes. His August 2024 debut against Toulouse was closely followed by his first goal for Les Canaris in September 2024 against Saint-Etienne. By the end of the 2024/25 season he had scored one goal in 27 appearances for Nantes and was a target for ambitious Hull City chairman Acun Illicali, only to be thwarted when transfer restrictions prevented the Tigers from spending a fee.

In July 2025 Thomas joined Championship side Stoke City, he had a breakout season for Mark Robins’ Potters side and netted ten goals from the left wing including a thumping strike in November 2025 against Hull City. After starting the 2026/27 season at Stoke and making his penultimate appearance in a League Cup tie against Hull City, he joined the Tigers at the end of August 2026 – he scored ten goals in 52 appearances for Stoke City.

Thomas qualifies to play international football for Wales through his mother, who was born in Newport, South Wales. He received his first call-up in October 2021 and won his debut cap against Czechia. He won occasional caps from the bench for the next eighteen months and was selected for Wales’ 2022 Qatar World Cup squad – he played just one minute of regulation time against USA in November 2022. Thomas spent the 2023/24 season out of the international picture before returning to the Wales team in September 2024 – in June 2025 he scored his first international goal against Belgium then added a second goal in March 2026 against Northern Ireland. In September and October 2026 Sorba won his first Welsh caps as a Hull City player in Nations League ties against Portugal, Denmark (twice) and Norway, which took his tally to two goals in 31 senior caps.

Details

Nationality: England
Date/Place of Birth: 25 January 1999, Barking
Hull City First Game: 5 September 2026, Aston Villa H (Premier League), 27 years, 223 days old
Hull City Final Game: [current player]

Clubs

Boreham Wood (2015-2021), Cheshunt (2018, loan), Huddersfield Town (2021-2025), Blackburn Rovers (2023, loan), Nantes (2024-2025, loan), Stoke City (2025-2026), Hull City (2026-current)

Hull City Record

Career: 4 apps, 0 goals