Having signed brother Nathan already in summer 2023, Boro’ then went out to secure the services of Louis Thompson too; the midfielder’s arrival confirmed less than two weeks after his sibling’s. Not that it’s a huge deal, but the (double) deal was the first time in a generation that a pair of brothers could feature together in our first team; the last occurrence being Nicholas and Dominic Grime during the mid-1990s. A slightly more successful example of Boro’ brothers in arms, meanwhile, would be the iconic Gittings.
Of course, we totally digress from discussing Louis Thompson and his own clear merits as a footballer. Like brother Nathan, he’d firmly established himself on the Football League circuit by the time he arrived here at the Lamex. In fact, his tally of appearances in Leagues One and Two clocked in at nearly 200 by the time he came to us. And what he’d bring with him to the Lamex was a combative midfield presence; one focused on the defensive side of the the game.
And it felt as if he bought into what boss Steve Evans wanted to achieve going into the 2023-4 League One campaign. Evans, fresh after steering us up to the third tier, was pulling together a squad capable of making new memories. It clearly resonated with Thompson, saying: “This is a club with lots of momentum. We have aspirations of surprising a few and I believe in the project. I enjoyed my initial conversations with the manager and have been impressed with the infrastructure – now I’m ready for a good season.”
Louis Thompson: Before Boro’
As mentioned, Thompson is a lad who came with no shortage of Football League experience. It all started for the midfielder as a member of the Swindon Town youth structure; drafted into the first team fray by manager Paolo Di Canio during the 2011-2 campaign. And his talent would ultimately grab the attention of other teams – mainly Norwich City. The Canaries swooped in at the start of the 2014-5 Championship season; signing him and immediately loaning him back to the Robins. It’d be the first of three spells back at the County Ground.
In the 2019-20 season, opportunities at Carrow Road were still restricted. As such, Thompson made his first loan move to a side that wasn’t Swindon Town. Instead, it was to Shrewsbury Town on a season-long deal. It didn’t quite have the desired effect, however. The midfielder ended up returning to Norwich in January 2020 after making 14 appearances in Shropshire; the deal ending prematurely even before Covid-19 had a chance to bring the curtain down on that campaign.
Thompson’s time at Carrow Road came to an end by mutual consent in July 2021, by which point he’d spent time out on loan at MK Dons twice. It offered him the chance to join Portsmouth, where he’d feature regularly over two seasons in League One.
