Barnsley: New boy Luke Thomas relishing competition for places at Oakwell

Thomas was the first of 10 new recruits at the Reds this season as they plan for life in the Championship.

The attacking midfielder, signed from Derby for a fee over £1million, has plenty of players vying for the same position as he is in Daniel Stendel's starting line-up.

He will be competing against the likes of Jacob Brown, Jordan Green, Mamadou Thiam, Conor Chaplin and George Miller for a shirt, but it is a battle that he says will bring out the best in him.

“I strive off competition, I don’t think there’s anything better than having another lad there to make you work for your place,” Thomas said.

“At Barnsley, we’ve got very tough competition and if you get a starting place on Saturday, you know you’ve worked hard for it.

“The front four has got some quality players. Conor has been brought in, and Cauley [Woodrow] and Mallik [Wilks] are both top players as well, but the link up was good and we all worked well with each other.

“It’s something that we’ve worked on in training and in order to create opportunities for us all.”

Thomas bagged in the Reds' last friendly – the 3-2 win over German Bundesliga 2 side Arminia Bielefeld – and will be hoping to get the nod when Sheffield United visit Oakwell on Saturday.