view Thompson's match-by-match record
 
Louis THOMPSON

A younger brother of Nathan, Louis Thompson first broke into the first team squad in November 2011, when he made the bench for the first round FA Cup tie against Huddersfield - the midfielder already attracting the interest of Manchester United, who had scouted him on a number of occasions. It was the Fourth Round before he made his debut, coming on as a late substitute in a 2-0 defeat at Leicester in January 2012 - later in the year, he was called up to the Wales under-19 squad along with fellow Town youngster Aaron Oakley.


The following season, having travelled with the first team for the pre-season preparations in Italy, Town boss Paolo di Canio admitted to a late change of heart after almost handing Thompson his full debut at Stevenage in November 2012 - instead, he was introduced as a second half substitute in an FA Cup tie against Macclesfield the following weekend, and though his lively performance was one of the only highlights of a poor team performance, Thompson suffered the ignominy of scoring an own goal - with the Town hit on the break whilst chasing an equaliser against their non-League opponents, Thompson chased back seventy yards in an attempt to prevent the Silkmen from extending their lead - and though he did superbly well to get there, his unfortunate slide tackle from outside the area somehow wrong footed Town keeper Wes Foderingham, and nestled into the bottom corner of the net. Nevertheless, Thompson was awarded his full debut just three days later in a goalless draw with Sheffield United - and with his brother Nathan in the same side, they became the first siblings since Alf and Bill Stephens in 1947 to start a Town game. After making another substitute appearance the following weekend at Walsall, the arrival of Danny Hollands on loan saw Thompson eased out of the sixteen.


It was February before Thompson was called up for first team duties again - with senior pros Tommy Miller and Darren Ward in caretaker charge after di Canio’s resignation, they brought Thompson into the sixteen after the Italian had previously left spaces free on the bench in a bid to highlight how thin his squad was. Despite this, it was under new boss Kevin MacDonald at the end of March before Thompson saw any further action - after being called up to the Welsh under-21 squad for the first time, he was introduced as a second half substitute in a goalless draw with Notts County, before a shin problem ruled him out for the rest of the season. When the season ended though, Thompson was rewarded with his first professional contract - signing a two year deal.

The 2013/14 season saw Thompson make big strides forward in his professional career - a regular substitute through the first half of the season, he broke into the starting eleven in late January, an injury ending Tottenham midfielder Ryan Mason’s loan at the club. At Walsall away, Thompson was part of a three-man midfield with Massimo Luongo and Yaser Kasim, which would become one of Town’s most successful in recent times, taking Town all the way to Wembley the following year. Across the rest of the season, he battled Ryan Harley and Lee Cox for a starting spot and scored his first Town goal - a last minute winner in front of 8,500 at the County Ground against Sheffield United. Town fans delighted in having a pair of homegrown talents in the squad and appropriated Manchester City’s song for the Touré brothers, the chant ringing around the ground as Thompson grabbed his second in the next home game against Brentford.

After a breakthrough season, it came as something of a surprise when Thompson was sold to Norwich on transfer deadline day the following season - it seemed that one of Town’s brightest prospects in years would leave the County Ground having played fewer than 40 games for his hometown club. As it was to turn out, the story wasn’t even half written - Thompson’s transfer deal, which was set to rise to over £1m, included a season-long loan at the County Ground for the 2014/15 season. And what a season that turned out to be - Mark Cooper’s side, built on Kasim, Luongo and Thompson as a midfield trio went all the way to the playoff final, although a late season shoulder injury and the emergence of Ben Gladwin meant that Thompson was only a substitute at Wembley, having missed almost three months of action.

Despite the disappointing way it ended, it felt right that Thompson had a proper swansong at Swindon before going on to better things, so it came as a bit of a surprise that he was back on loan again the next season by the middle of September. The 2015/16 side had lost Luongo, Gladwin and Nathan Byrne after the playoff final, which meant that by the time Thompson returned as a substitute at Barnsley, Kasim was partnered with the distinctly less excellent Anton Rodgers and Drissa Traore. Thompson did his best but couldn’t make up for those around him as Town finished 15th. His final appearance in a Town shirt was marred by a red card for two bookable offences at Rochdale.

Unfortunately, injuries severely hampered Thompson’s Norwich career - and he made just a handful of appearances over the next few seasons for the Canaries, spending time out on loan at Shrewsbury and MK Dons.

PLAYING RECORD:

Season LEAGUE FA CUP LEAGUE CUP OTHER TOTAL
Played Gls Played Gls Played Gls Played Gls Played Gls
'15/'16 23 (+5) 2 1 - - - - - 24 (+5) 2
'14/'15 30 (+3) 2 1 - 2 1 2 - 35 (+3) 3
'13/'14 17 (+11) 2 - - 1 (+2) - 4 - 22 (+13) 2
'12/'13 1 (+2) - (+1) - - - - - 1 (+3) -
'11/'12 - - (+1) - - - - - (+1) -
TOTAL 71 (+21) 6 2 (+2) - 3 (+2) 1 6 - 82 (+25) 7


TRANSFER INFORMATION:

DATE IN/OUT TRANSFER DETAIL
1 SEP 2014 IN Norwich City
(loan)
1 SEP 2014 OUT Norwich City
Undisclosed fee (believed to be around £600,000, rising to £1.2m depending on performance, with a sell-on clause)
25 MAY 2015 OUT Norwich City
(loan return)
7 JAN 2016 OUT Norwich City
(loan return)
11 MAY 2016 OUT Norwich City
(loan return)


full name

Louis Clyde William Thompson


 WALES
U-19 international apps

3 apps(3 apps whilst at Swindon)


date of birth
19 December 1994


             
             
           
             
             
             

usual positions
central midfield

youth career
SWINDON TOWN

senior career
SWINDON TOWN
Norwich City
SWINDON TOWN (loan)
SWINDON TOWN (loan)
SWINDON TOWN (loan)
Shrewsbury Town (loan)
Milton Keynes Dons (loan)
Milton Keynes Dons (loan)

website links
Twitter