According to The Athletic, Thomas will join Spanish club Villarreal one month after leaving Arsenal as a free agent. Thomas has completed his medical examination and is expected to sign a two-year contract.

Thomas left Arsenal after his contract expired on June 30. On July 4, he was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. He denied the allegations.

He will attend a court hearing in London today, August 5, and Villarreal will play a pre-season friendly match with Arsenal.

Thomas played for Atletico Madrid from 2013 to 2020. Before moving to Arsenal in 2020, he also played for two other Spanish teams (Mallorca in 2013-14 and Almeria in 2014-15).

At the end of the Arsenal contract on June 30, 2025, Arsenal confirmed that they are negotiating with Thomas on a new contract. However, he left the team as free after both sides failed to agree on the new terms.

Four days after Thomas left Arsenal, he was charged by the Crown Prosecutor's Office (CPS). On July 4, Thomas was charged by the Crown Prosecutor's Office with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.

The allegations involved three women, allegedly occurring between 2021 and 2022. The London Police Department began an investigation into Thomas after receiving a rape report in February 2022. Thomas denied the allegations.

Thomas is expected to appear in Westminster District Court on Tuesday. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. BST. The hearing will be held publicly, meaning the general public can listen. It is not expected to be very long and may end in a few minutes.

It is listed as the first hearing, not a defense hearing. A first hearing can mean a lot of things, but it is usually a hearing to determine the next date and start the proceedings. In some cases, the defendant does not need to appear in court in person for the first hearing, but this depends on the circumstances.

And at the defense hearing, the defendant needs to make a guilty or innocent defense. If the defense is not guilty, the case will eventually enter the trial stage. If the defendant pleads guilty, the next hearing will be a sentencing hearing.

TA contacted the Crown Prosecutor's Office, the London Police Office, Westminster District Court and Thomas' legal representatives to try to clarify whether Thomas had been imposed on travel restrictions, but it is not yet clear.

Thomas still represented Arsenal in the away game in the Champions League during his arrest and police investigation, and his last appearance in the European event was against Paris on May 7, indicating that he may not have travel restrictions at the time.

Thomas last played for Arsenal on May 25th against Southampton away on the last day of the Premier League season.

Can Thomas play for Villarreal after being accused? The fact that a player is charged or under investigation for any crime does not prevent him from signing with Villarreal.

Royal Football Federation of Spain is waiting for the formal completion of Thomas registration to study whether and where appropriate any mechanism is initiated for the case.