Luke Thompson agrees to “mega deal” with Wigan Warriors

After being linked with the likes of Wigan Warriors, Leeds Rhinos, Warrington Wolves and St Helens in the past, Luke Thompson is finally set to return to Super League in 2024 according to reports.

Thompson left St Helens in 2020 after winning the Harry Sunderland Award in 2019.

He joined the Canterbury Bulldogs but have an injury hit time at the club it became apparent that he would be leaving at the end of 2023.

Now he is set to join Wigan on what the Daily Telegraph has described as “a mega deal.”

We know it is a four year contract but beyond that it is unclear the value of the contract being offered.

This comes despite initial suggestions he would join Sydney Roosters.

Channel 9 reporter Danny Weidler said on the Wide World of Sports: “This will probably get people scratching their head a little bit but Luke Thompson is telling people he would like to play for the Roosters for less.

“We’ve heard that story before. There’s been an approach that Thompson would like to go to the Roosters and he’s got an association with (incoming assistant coach) Justin Holbrook.

“I think there’s a couple of other clubs that would like Luke Thompson. I don’t know whether (Phil Gould’s) Dogs are still in with a chance of keeping him or if they even want him, I don’t know.

“I do know that Luke Thompson has been linked (to the Roosters), there was an approach to Nick Politis, the chairman of the Roosters.

“It’ll be interesting to see if that goes through. I don’t know how they fit him into the cap though.”

Recently Thompson spoke about his future and his injury.

“I could never write the year off,” Thompson said to the Daily Telegraph.

“Not playing this year never entered my mind. All year I’ve been trying to get back as soon as I could. My main focus was to get back and help the lads.

“It has taken longer than I hoped but it’ll be good to get back out there.

“I was back in the gym a week after surgery. You can’t train on your feet but you can do other stuff. I kept sitting in the team video sessions because I had to keep footy on my mind.

“Because as soon as I was ready to come back I had to be ready to go. It took longer than expected but all the hard work is going to pay off.”

When asked about his future, he said: “It’s a bit of a unique situation. I missed the back-end of last year and then played a World Cup. I came in ready for a big season and then I got injured.

“I know my values and what I bring to a club and team. For me it’s reminding people because I have not been there for a quite a while now. Injury can make you better or define you. I always have mindset to get it right.”

Last week, Thompson made a return to the reserves for Bulldogs.

“I felt really good,” Thompson said. “The foot felt good and my lungs were better than I expected. It gave me a lot of confidence. Straight away I could feel that everything I’d done was starting to pay me back.”