In a congested market place Jerome Thomas represents the high calibre candidate all managers want.
Skysports.com looks at the summer's transfer bargains
In a congested free agent market place Jerome Thomas represents the high calibre candidate all managers are looking for as they attempt to sort the wheat from the chaff.
Having left Portsmouth after an injury-ridden 12 months at Fratton Park, the 26-year-old winger is looking to kick-start a career that was so full of promise and potential at Charlton.
Thomas started last season in then Pompey boss Harry Redknapp's starting XI but a freak injury, which saw him fracture two bones in his lower back, left him sidelined after just the second game of the campaign and contemplating just how short a footballer's career can be.
Using his lay-off to take stock of where his career was going, Thomas believes the injury may prove to have been a blessing in disguise.
"To be honest I'm just glad that my back's healed, that's the main thing. It was a reality check to miss out on the whole season," Thomas told
skysports.com.
"It made me realise just how quick this career actually goes. I'm ready now, my back feels better and I'm desperate to play, wherever I end up.
"I feel just as good as I did at my best, but mentally I've got a different outlook after the year I've had off.
"It was a real reality check for me, next season I want to play all the games, be they Carling Cup, FA Cup, whatever. I can't wait for pre-season friendlies.
"It might have been a blessing in disguise, a wake-up call about just how short your career really is. I need to get my head down and really start working."
Prior to his South Coast sojourn Thomas was most readily seen scampering down either flank at The Valley, with his time at Charlton characterised by the type of exciting displays that once saw him touted for a potential senior England call-up, the only international honour to have eluded him to date.
Tigers chance
It is such a background that has already seen him handed a week's training at Hull City, where Thomas is making a favourable impression having impressed and scored in two friendlies at the weekend.
Tigers boss Phil Brown described the player as 'bright and bubbly' after watching him first hand and Thomas admits a move to Hull is something he would seriously consider.
"I'm going down there to keep fit but obviously I know Hull are a great club," he added.
"They did brilliantly last season in staying up. Hull are a very big club and the Premier League is the top level to be at.
"If a deal can be set up then great, if it works for both parties."
While Thomas concedes his time at Portsmouth did not work out as he would have liked, his outlook remains optimistic as he weighs up his options for the future.
Confident that wherever he ends up he'll be able to win a first XI berth, it is with excitement, along with a little nervous apprehension, which he looks to the new campaign.
"I'm quite confident in my own ability, so whoever I join I'll go there, get myself fit and then I think I'll be able to break into their starting XI.
"I think it's just a case of keeping myself fit. If I'd stayed fit at Portsmouth I think I'd have been playing week-in week-out. I'm confident that if I can get a good pre-season under my belt I'll be able to feature. Then it's my job to keep myself in the team.
"I think the Premier League is probably the place to be at the moment, because of the way I play the game. I'm a high intensity
