Qatar-based Coley states interest in MoBay striker, other local talent

Former Reggae Boyz assistant coach Miguel Coley, now the reserve team coach for Qatar Stars League side Umm Salal, says the club is interested in signing Jamaican forward Shaniel Thomas due to the striker’s impressive form in the 2024–25 Jamaica Premier League (JPL) season.

Thomas, who has scored 12 league goals this season for Montego Bay United, is no stranger to Coley, who coached him during his career at Jamaica College, one of the island’s most successful schoolboy football programmes.

“I have always given names to the club personnel and one of the names that I have been looking at is Shaniel Thomas,” Coley said. “He has been doing very well in the league. He is very strong, he can keep the ball, he is very good one vs one, he heads very well and he shoots very well.”

Coley says that Thomas would be an ideal fit for the Qatar Stars League.

“For a league like this, especially with a mid-table team, he can keep the ball and allow the other players to go off to breathe,” he explained.

The coach confirmed there has been contact with Thomas's camp.

“I am looking at him and I spoke to his agent a few days ago and I hope that something positive can come out of this because I think he is on the verge of making a big move. I believe that it will be good that our club can have him.”

Despite their history, Cole insists that his interest in Thomas is not based solely on familiarity.

“It is not a matter that I have coached him before, but I know his personality and I know that he is a fighter. He was called to the national team, but he was not in the last game due to injury. He is doing very well and I have seen the goals he has scored in the league. I believe he is a fantastic fit for a league like this with his pace, his intensity, and his movements off the ball.”

Coley said there is interest in other players but noted he does not always have the final say in club recruitment decisions.

“I see the new striker Warner Brown of Arnett Gardens; he is like [former Reggae Boy] Darren Mattocks to me. He shoots very well, runs off the ball very well, and there is always a place for a player like that who can give you goals. Demar Phillips from Montego Bay United, as a midfielder, allows the game to tick, so I like him, of course,” he said.

"I have always been giving Jamaican players to the sports director, but how the system works here, you have to be a coach with big power to bring the player that you need or, otherwise, you will get players from the sports director of the club who is in charge of recruiting,” Coley, who also coached at the national youth level in Jamaica, added.

He praised the overall improvement of the Jamaica Premier League over the past three years.

“It [JPL] is very difficult because any team can beat any team. I have seen more quality players and I’m happy for this. The league has improved not only with the local players but also with players from within the Caribbean and outside,” Coley asserted.

— Robert Bailey