Silko Thomas – Welcome to Wigan Athletic

They say all good things come in threes, and for the third day in a row Latics have confirmed the arrival of an exciting new signing. And so because I’m ace (and could do with a Friday evening away from the pub!) I’ve got another article telling you everything you need to know about our latest recruit.

Silko Thomas is a 20-year-old wide player who has joined us on a season-long loan from Championship champions Leicester City. He’s actually a product of the Chelsea academy where he spent a decade coming up through the ranks before joining The Foxes last summer. After eight goal contributions in 16 PL2 games last season he’s certainly a player they have high hopes for.

And rightly so. Thomas is a really exciting player, with bags of pace and flair whenever he takes the field. He’s a winger who can take the ball comfortably and effectively on either foot, quite similar to Jordan Jones in the way he disguises his changes of direction. He’s got a bit about him in front of goal too, and looks like a nice addition to our forward line.

It’s not dissimilar to the signing of Martial Godo last summer in fairness. Both were excellent in the PL2 and arrive(d) at Latics looking to make their first mark on the senior game. Godo was good for us, especially at the start of his loan spell, and I’m sure Shaun Maloney and his staff, as well as all us supporters, would take a similar impact from our new loanee.

In this, and every ‘Welcome to Wigan Athletic’ article that I post this summer, I’ll be taking a closer look at all aspects of the new signing’s game. Their profile, where they’ve played before and how they’ve performed, their suitability to our club and our style of play, and a report on their best attributes as well of areas of their game that could hold them back. As best I can I’m going to try and provide you, the valued reader, with the best possible idea of what to expect from our recruits.

And as there’s no time like the present, here we go. Silko Thomas, you’re up to bat. Let’s see what you’ve got!

Profile

Strengths

Silko Thomas will run at you, keep running and not stop running at you. He must be a nightmare to defend against because even if you’re getting the better of him he isn’t phased and will just keep on going, until he does beat you. He’s always looking to isolate his marker to create 1v1 situations, from which he backs himself to get the better of them with his pace, agility and trickery. And more often than not he does so.

How that translates to the senior game remains to be seen, and he will have to adapt his style somewhat against better players, but his core attributes will serve him well. I really believe it’s important that your loan players, particularly those coming in for their first real taste of first-team football, to have a certain level of resilience and bravery about them. Silko left home aged 18 to further his career, which in football terms is pretty brave.

It’s important to compliment good ball carrying skills with an end product though, and the signs Thomas showed in the PL2 last season suggest he’s got that ability in his locker. I really, really like his right-to-left shift, which is extremely effective when he’s playing on the left wing. He shapes up to shoot or pass it with his right before dragging it onto his left and firing the ball on goal. It’s so smooth and really well disguised given the fact he’s actually right footed.

He’s got the ability to shoot and cross the ball with his left pretty well which makes him much trickier to defend against. His crosses are a bit ‘painting by numbers’ in the sense that they’re delivered into areas rather than aimed at a specific target. I’d like to see him add that precision to his crossing game, but with natural poachers like Joe Hugill and Josh Stones his deliveries could bear fruit.

In front of goal he doesn’t tend to rush his shots, but again that’s easier to do in the less-pressurised environment of youth football. There’s not really anything special about his finishing abilities, but importantly there’s nothing concerning. His technique and ball striking look sound, as does his shot-selection. He can go high or low, near or far post all comfortably, and is always looking for shooting opportunities which I like.

And while I can’t say it with complete certainty I think it’s fair to say Silko Thomas came across in his interview with Latics TV as a intelligent young man who is desperate to develop his game. That hunger and willingness to learn is invaluable, and I’m sure it means he’ll fit in well with our young squad. He’s got the flair and ability to excite fans, and the attitude to impress coaches and management.

Limitations

I suppose the first thing to say is his lack of first-team experience is a slight concern simply because it’s another player we’ll have to give time to settle into that new environment. It’s not as much as a worry as it might be to another club given how accustomed to this situation we’ve become, but with any young player there’s always that risk of it not clicking. It will be a challenge for him to settle, and the sooner he does so the better.

I also have a few questions regarding his out-of-possession work. Not due to a lack of work rate or willingness to put the hard yards in, but in the clips I’ve watched of him there does appear to be a naivety when defending 1v1. He played a fair amount of football at wing back in his youth career, and I’d certainly question whether or not he’s suited for that at League One level.

As he’s not the most physically imposing player he can be guilty of entering physical duels without 100% commitment which not only impacts the team, but also makes him more prone to injuries. As that was the case at youth level you have to assume it’ll continue against bigger, better adult footballers. However, a year of training against senior teammates should help sort that problem out somewhat.

That issue can follow him when he’s got the ball too. He’s quite easily shrugged off the ball by bigger opponents, something that when watching clips of him I noticed quite frequently in his game for Leicester u21s at the DW Stadium last season. It’s fair to say Liam Shaw and Kell Watts both showed him whose boss in the duels they had with him that night. That said, he did skin Kell during a rapid counterattack so it wasn’t all bad!

Silko Thomas is what he is; a young, wet behind the ears forward who just wants to express himself with the ball at his feet. I’m sure he’ll be well drilled by Maloney and co and made aware of his responsibilities when we don’t have the ball, but how he responds to those instructions and carries them out remains to be seen.

Potential Fit

Based on Shaun Maloney’s comments following Silko Thomas’ arrival it sounds as though the Leicester loanee’s versatility played a big part in making the move so attractive for us. The manager said: “He is a very exciting player who can play on the left and right wing, as well as in the number 10 position. I believe he will be well-suited to our playing style this season.”

I’d suggest he’s definitely more suited to the wing, and with Thelo Aasgaard and Chris Sze ahead of him in the 10 role I can’t see him getting loads of minutes there anyway. The 20-year-old has everything you want in a wide player and I really like the look of him as a left sided attacker. With Jonny Smith and Dion Rankine looking set to fight it out on the right it may come down to a battle of the loanees on the left; Olakigbe vs Thomas.

And that excites me. Thomas is capable of taking the ball down the left wing or cutting inside onto his favoured right foot and making things happen more centrally. Whisper it quietly, but if we sign Luke Chambers, who is a player excellent at both overlapping and underlapping, and play him behind Thomas it would be an incredibly unpredictable left-sided partnership.

When used on the right it encourages him to stick on his right foot more often, therefore playing as a more traditional ‘get down the line and cross it’ winger. His pace means he is likely to get into the box to effect the game when the ball is on the other side, something we’ve already seen from Dion Rankine in pre season. It’s an area of his game that’s actually quite accomplished, so expect him to be used on that side too.

Final Thoughts

Well us supporters asked for some movement on the transfer front, and Latics have well and truly delivered over the last week. My assumption is that Silko Thomas will be our penultimate signing of the summer, and if that’s the case it’s a really nice one. Sure, it’s a bit of a risk, but equally the context of our squad and club offsets that greatly.

He’s undoubtedly a talented lad and should only get better with experience. His attacking qualities are exciting and he strikes me as another player who’ll get us off our seats which I feel like we’ve missed at times. We went down this route with Martial Godo and it worked nicely, so hopefully this loan spell is equally successful.

I’m definitely excited to watch him play and hope he hits the ground running. As supporters we must endeavour to aid his settling in process by being as patient as possible, because I’m confident in saying that when it clicks for Silko Thomas he’ll be wonderful. This is his first chance to make a name for himself and he’s got to take it with both hands.

Welcome to Wigan Athletic, Silko Thomas. Up The Tics!