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Highlights

Jerome Thomas and West Bromwich Albion were a match made in heaven the moment the winger took to the turf at the Hawthorns.

The Arsenal academy graduate moved to the Midlands following a dismal spell at Portsmouth where he featured just three times off the substitutes’ bench at Fratton Park, with injuries blighting his time on the south coast.

But once he regained his match fitness the former Charlton Athletic man’s performances were a tour de force as the Baggies earned themselves promotion to the Premier League, with a number of standout performances throughout the Championship campaign.

The enigmatic wide man was unplayable on his day, with his unpredictable nature making him a constant thorn in defenders’ sides in the 09/10 season, before making the step up to the Premier League the following campaign.

Jerome Thomas early career: Arsenal, Charlton Athletic, Portsmouth

After coming up through the ranks at Arsenal, Thomas featured briefly for Queens Park Rangers in a couple of loan spells in the third tier, before moving to Charlton Athletic in the early stages of 2004.

The tricky winger went on to enjoy four years at The Valley, as the Addicks, with the first three of which being played in the top flight before relegation in 2007.

The young attacking outlet had managed to prove himself as a shining star in Alan Curbishley’s side during his early years in Greenwich though, with his first goal for the club coming in a 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.

Seven goals and 103 league appearances later, Thomas’ constant trickery on the flanks was being sought after by top level clubs following Athletic’s drop into the Championship, with Portsmouth swooping for the forward on an initial loan deal.

With that deal made permanent Pompey fans would have been prepared to see their new star in action, but what followed was a year of injury problems on the south coast, with just 143 minutes played throughout the course of the season.

The wide man’s promise from the start of his career was in danger of fizzling out after so long on the sidelines, so it was something of a gamble for West Brom to offer him a deal at the Hawthorns ahead of the 09/10 season, but as the history-books show it was one that immediately paid off for the Baggies.

Then-boss Robert Di Matteo got his reward for sticking with the former Arsenal man with three goals in his first seven league appearances, including a brace in a 3-1 victory over Reading leaving the Albion manager hoping for more from his new recruit.

Di Matteo said at the time: “Jerome was a threat all day. I hope he isn't just going to play like that for one game."

And he most definitely didn’t; with three goals in three games at the end of November helping his side earn more valuable points in the race towards promotion, while his mazy runs allowed space for his teammates to flourish further up the field.

If it wasn’t for his ill-discipline Thomas could have been even more of an influential figure for the Baggies that season, with red cards against Arsenal and Plymouth Argyle seeing him spend plenty of time on the sidelines through suspension.

Pompey fans would have been cursing their luck that they let the winger get away, with his unavailability for matches during his time at Fratton Park forcing their hand into letting him leave the club.

He was thriving in his new role with Albion though, with promotion to the Premier League secured before going on to be a regular in the top flight the following season.

Jerome Thomas thrives for West Bromwich Albion in Premier League

Scoring what proved to be the winner against former club Arsenal will have been a highlight during that time, with the Gunners going down 3-2 in front of their own fans, as the boing boing Baggies belied their reputation to stay in the Premier League.

With the likes of Shane Long and Peter Odemwingie leading the line and Chris Brunt also operating on the flanks, Steve Clarke was performing admirably with his side to steer them to back-to-back top-half Premier League finishes, with a young Romelu Lukaku firing in the goals in the second of those campaigns.

Albion fans hadn’t had it so good in years, and Thomas was key to getting them back to the big time, although his time at the Hawthorns was coming to an end as the good times continued to roll.

A bit-part player in 12/13, Thomas made the move to Crystal Palace the following summer, where he barely managed hit double figures for appearances in his two years at the club.

Spells at Rotherham United and Port Vale followed, but he was a shadow of the player that was tearing defences apart in the top two tiers during the peak of his career, and he eventually called it a day in the summer of 2017.

There was a time though where Jerome Thomas was one of the most feared wingers in the EFL, and rightly got another shot at the big time with a free-flowing West Brom side.