This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Sunderland are reportedly interested in signing Barnsley winger Luke Thomas, as per Gloucestershire Live.

Thomas - who joined Barnsley from Derby County last summer - scored one goal and added four assists in 39 league appearances last season.

The winger has made only six league starts for the Tykes this season, though, and could be set for a January move away from Oakwell.

According to Gloucestershire Live, Sunderland, Oxford United and several other League One sides are interested in signing the 21-year-old.

Here, we discuss this potential signing for the Black Cats...

Phil Spencer

Luke Thomas would certainly be a good signing.

The attacking midfielder has been a consistent part of the first team squad at Oakwell over the last year or so.

That's why it would be a surprise to see him leave.

The 21-year-old would undoubtedly make a big impact for Sunderland but the question mark is if he would drop down a division to move to Wearside.

He'd certainly fit into Lee Johnson's side though, and so if the Black Cats can pull it off then it'd be a good signing.

George Dagless

He could well be.

He's a young player with decent attacking quality but Barnsley are struggling to find a spot for him with their wing-back system and the form of Callums Brittain and Styles.

We've seen him used a sub a lot this season so there is obviously a willingness from the Tykes to get him in in some capacity but he'll surely feel he can play from the start at a good level.

I think under Lee Johnson we'd see him come along nicely too.

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Toby Wilding

I could see this being a fairly decent signing for Sunderland.

It does look as though Lee Johnson is trying to add an extra attacking instinct to his side in the push for promotion, and given the struggles his current forward options are enduring, you can understand him wanting to add to those in January.

That does mean that Thomas could be a decent addition for Sunderland, considering he has at times in the past shown that he has the potential to both create and take chances, meaning he could be a useful asset to the Black Cats.

As a result, this could be one worth looking into for Sunderland, but given there are still two-and-a-half years remaining on his contract at Oakwell, it could be difficult for the League One club to actually get a deal for the winger completed.