Jay Matete (born 11 February 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Sunderland.
 Matete warming up for Sunderland in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jay Matete[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 11 February 2001[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 | |||
| –2018 | Reading | ||
| 2018–2019 | Fleetwood Town | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2022 | Fleetwood Town | 27 | (1) |
| 2021 | → Grimsby Town (loan) | 20 | (3) |
| 2022– | Sunderland | 22 | (0) |
| 2023 | → Plymouth 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
Fleetwood Town
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)
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
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
- As of match played 7 May 2023
| 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 | ||
Honours
Sunderland
Plymouth Argyle
- EFL League One: 2022–23[19]
- EFL Trophy runner-up: 2022–23[20]