He went to PEC Zwolle for a 10-day trial at the start of last season. Zwolle liked what they saw and asked him to stay longer. Trial situations are always tough, especially for young players, as they need to impress coaches and win the respect of prospective team-mates.
"At first it was difficult," says Thomas. "Some of the players were against me and there was a lot of competition. But I proved myself in an early friendly match and could build from there."
After six weeks with the reserves, Thomas was promoted to the first team and hasn't looked back. He scored on debut and was named man of the match in a 4-0 Dutch Cup win and a few days later made his first appearance in the league, against former European champions PSV Eindhoven. Zwolle have a deep squad, with 12 nationalities represented, but since he signed professional terms in mid-October, Thomas has made 16 appearances, including 12 games in the Eredivisie. A personal highlight was playing in front of almost 50,000 fans against Feyenoord in Rotterdam.
Zwolle made a stirring start to this season, topping the table for almost a month. It was a new stratosphere for the modest club.
They have had some big names through the doors - 1970s Oranje hero Johnny Rep and former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam - but have never been a big club.
Their best season (of just 13 in the Eredivisie) was an eighth place finish in 1979 and they have also reached the Dutch Cup final twice. They are currently eighth in the 18 team league.
Thomas lives with a foster family in Zwolle, population 120,000, 120km north-east of Amsterdam. He says his grasp of the language is slowly "coming along".
The unforgiving European winter has been an experience, as has the primacy of bicycles over cars.
Thomas hasn't appeared from nowhere but he took the route less travelled. Raised in Te Puke, he played his early football in Tauranga, coming under the tutelage of former All White Declan Edge. He would later travel up to three times a week across the Kaimai Ranges to train with the Hamilton-based Edge. When these journeys became too much, Thomas boarded at Edge's house for three years, sharing a room with Declan's son Harry.
"Declan has been a massive influence on my career," says Thomas. "From my early teens, playing and studying football just became my whole life."
Positive results were tough to come by - "from the age of 11 to 15, we won hardly any games; we always lost to the Auckland teams" - but Edge insisted on adhering to a possession style of play, at all costs.
"He was prepared to do what it takes to make it," Edge says. "Sure, he has some talent but it was his mentality and ability to commit that made the difference."
His transition to senior ranks wasn't easy. He was relegated with Melville in 2011 and was part of Edge's controversial tenure at Waikato FC, when the team went on a losing streak as the coach emphasised player development at the expense of results. Thomas was one of eight players who left the club midway through the 2012-13 season, following Edge to the Ole Academy in Wellington after he was removed from his Waikato post.
"I always wanted to be a professional footballer," says Thomas. "I never thought about not making it - as Declan likes to say, 'If you have a back-up plan, your eyes are not on the goal' - but you don't know if it is going to happen."
Beyond establishing himself in the Zwolle squad, Thomas wants to be a standout in the Eredivisie.
"I want to change games, get into games a lot more," says Thomas of the next few years. "I don't just want to be another player in this league. I want to help the club win matches and hopefully get into the Europa League. The long-term dream is the Premier League."
The next step in Thomas' development comes on Wednesday, when he is part of an All Whites team that takes on a full-strength Japan in their farewell match at the national stadium before the World Cup.
"There are a lot of great players in the All Whites now, so to be among them will be a great experience."
