Jay Matete (born 11 February 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Sunderland.

Jay Matete
Matete warming up for Sunderland in 2022
Personal information
Full name Jay Matete[1]
Date of birth (2001-02-11) 11 February 2001 (age 23)[2]
Place of birth Lambeth, London, England
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
Oxford United
Number 36
Youth career
0000–2018 Reading
2018–2019 Fleetwood Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2022 Fleetwood Town 27 (1)
2021Grimsby Town (loan) 20 (3)
2022– Sunderland 22 (0)
2023Plymouth Argyle (loan) 19 (1)
2024–Oxford United (loan) 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:00, 28 March 2024 (UTC)

He was part of the youth academy at Reading before joining Fleetwood Town in 2018 and signing professional terms with them a year later. He went on to have a loan spell with Grimsby Town before joining Sunderland in 2022. He was part of the Plymouth Argyle side that won EFL League One in 2023 following a period on loan.

Career edit

Fleetwood Town edit

In May 2018, Matete signed for Fleetwood Town's academy, following a spell at Reading.[3] During the 2019–20 EFL Trophy, made two appearances for Fleetwood, against Liverpool U21 and Oldham Athletic.[4]

Grimsby Town (loan) edit

On 21 January 2021, Matete signed for Grimsby Town on loan until the end of the 2020–21 season.[5] Matete played in 20 games for The Mariners, scoring his first goal for the club 32 seconds into a EFL League Two tie with Bolton Wanderers in which Town ran out eventual 2-1 winners.[6][7]

He scored the winner in a 2–1 win at Oldham Athletic, with a brilliant solo strike having run from the halfway line before hitting a shot into the top corner.[8] A few days later he scored again away at Exeter City to give The Mariners a 2–1 lead, but was later sent off as Grimsby eventually lost 3–2 confirming relegation from the Football League.[9][10] The club appealed his red card but this was turned down effectively ending his season.[11]

Sunderland edit

On 31 January 2022, Matete signed for fellow EFL League One side Sunderland on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee. Matete said upon signing "I’m delighted to sign for a club of this stature and I can’t wait to get started. Everything happened so quickly, but it’s brilliant to get the deal done and I’m excited for what the future holds.

On 6 January 2023, Matete signed for Plymouth Argyle on loan until the end of the 2022–23 season. [12][13]

Career statistics edit

As of match played 7 May 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Fleetwood Town 2019–20[14] League One 0 0 0 0 0 0 3[a] 0 3 0
2020–21[15] League One 7 0 0 0 2 0 4[a] 0 13 0
2021–22[15] League One 20 1 1 0 1 0 3[a] 1 25 2
Total 27 1 1 0 3 0 10 1 41 2
Grimsby Town (loan) 2020–21[15] League Two 20 3 20 3
Sunderland 2021–22[16] League One 14 0 2[b] 0 16 0
2022–23[17] Championship 8 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 9 0
Total 22 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 25 0
Plymouth Argyle (loan) 2022–23[17] League One 19 1 0 0 0 0 3[a] 0 22 1
Career total 88 5 1 0 4 0 15 1 108 6
  1. ^ a b c d Appearances in Football League Trophy
  2. ^ Appearances in EFL League One play-offs

Honours edit

Sunderland

Plymouth Argyle

References edit

  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Fleetwood Town" (PDF). English Football League. p. 27. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  2. ^ Jay Matete at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  3. ^ "11 youngsters awarded scholarships within club's academy". Fleetwood Town F.C. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  4. ^ Jay Matete at Soccerway
  5. ^ "Matete Arrives at Blundell Park On Loan". Grimsby Town F.C. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Grimsby Town 2-1 Bolton Wanderers". BBC Sport.
  7. ^ "Report: Grimsby Town 2-1 Bolton Wanderers".
  8. ^ "Oldham 1-2 Grimsby: Mariners boost survival hopes through Jay Matete winner". Sky Sports.
  9. ^ "Grimsby relegated to National League". BBC Sport.
  10. ^ "Exeter 3-2 Grimsby: Paul Hurst's Mariners relegated from Sky Bet League Two".
  11. ^ "Jay Matete's Grimsby Town loan comes to an end after unsuccessful appeal". Grimsbylive. 30 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Sunderland unveil Jay Matete on long term deal in early hours of Tuesday". February 2022.
  13. ^ "Sunderland confirm late deadline day signing of Jay Matete from Fleetwood Town". February 2022.
  14. ^ "Games played by Jay Matete in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  15. ^ a b c "Games played by Jay Matete in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  16. ^ "Games played by Jay Matete in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
  17. ^ a b "Jay Matete | Football Stats | Season 2022/2023". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  18. ^ Paddy, Chris (21 May 2022). "Sunderland 2–0 Wycombe". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  19. ^ "Plymouth beat Port Vale to win League One title". BBC Sport. 7 May 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  20. ^ Pilnick, Brent (2 April 2023). "Bolton crush Plymouth to win Papa Johns Trophy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 August 2023.