Jay Matete (born 11 February 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for EFL League One club Milton Keynes Dons
 Matete warming up for Sunderland in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jay Matete[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 11 February 2001[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Islington, London, England | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Milton Keynes Dons | ||
| Number | 28 | ||
| 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) |
| 2022–2026 | Sunderland | 22 | (0) |
| 2023 | → Plymouth Argyle (loan) | 19 | (1) |
| 2024 | → Oxford United (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2024–2025 | → Bolton Wanderers (loan) | 35 | (3) |
| 2026– | Milton Keynes Dons | 6 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22:30, 17 February 2026 (UTC) | |||
Matete was part of the youth academy at Reading before joining Fleetwood Town. He went on to have a loan spell with Grimsby Town before joining Sunderland in 2022. He was also part of the Plymouth Argyle squad that won the EFL League One title in 2023 following a successful loan spell.
Career
editFleetwood Town
editIn May 2018, Matete signed for Fleetwood Town's academy, following a spell at Reading.[3] During the 2019–20 EFL Trophy, he made two appearances for Fleetwood Town, once against Liverpool U21 and once against Oldham Athletic.[4]
Grimsby Town (loan)
editOn 21 January 2021, Matete signed for Grimsby Town on loan until the end of the 2020–21 season.[5] During his loan spell, Matete made 20 appearances for The Mariners, scoring his first goal for the club just 32 seconds into a EFL League Two match against Bolton Wanderers which Grimsby Town won 2–1.[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
editOn 31 January 2022, Matete signed for fellow EFL League One side Sunderland on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee.[citation needed]
On 6 January 2023, Matete signed for Plymouth Argyle on loan until the end of the 2022–23 season.[12][13]
On 8 August 2024, Matete signed for Bolton Wanderers on loan until the end of the 2024–25 season.[14]
Milton Keynes Dons
editOn 9 January 2026, Matete joined EFL League Two club Milton Keynes Dons for an undisclosed fee, ending his four-year association with Sunderland.[15] He made his league debut for the club on 17 January 2026, coming on as a 76th-minute substitute in a 2–0 away win over Accrington Stanley.[16]
On 17 February 2026, Matete suffered a hamstring injury during a 0–0 home draw with Crawley Town, which ruled him out for the remainder of the 2025–26 season.[17] Despite missing much of the second half of the season, Matete achieved the third promotion of his career as the club finished second-place and returned to League One.[18]
Career statistics
edit- As of 17 February 2026
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Fleetwood Town | 2019–20[19] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2020–21[20] | League One | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 13 | 0 | |
| 2021–22[21] | 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[20] | League Two | 20 | 3 | — | — | — | 20 | 3 | |||
| Sunderland | 2021–22[21] | League One | 14 | 0 | — | — | 2[b] | 0 | 16 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23[22] | 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[22] | League One | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 22 | 1 |
| Oxford United (loan) | 2023–24[23] | League One | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Bolton Wanderers (loan) | 2024–25[24] | League One | 35 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 45 | 3 |
| Milton Keynes Dons | 2025–26[25] | League Two | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 135 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 166 | 9 | ||
- 1 2 3 4 Appearances in Football League Trophy
- ↑ Appearances in EFL League One play-offs
Honours
editReferences
edit- ↑ "Notification of shirt numbers: Fleetwood Town" (PDF). English Football League. p. 27. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
- ↑ Jay Matete at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
- ↑ "11 youngsters awarded scholarships within club's academy". Fleetwood Town F.C. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
- ↑ Jay Matete at Soccerway
- ↑ "Matete Arrives at Blundell Park On Loan". Grimsby Town F.C. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.[dead link]
- ↑ "Grimsby Town 2-1 Bolton Wanderers". BBC Sport.
- ↑ "Report: Grimsby Town 2-1 Bolton Wanderers".
- ↑ "Oldham 1-2 Grimsby: Mariners boost survival hopes through Jay Matete winner". Sky Sports.
- ↑ "Grimsby relegated to National League". BBC Sport.
- ↑ "Exeter 3-2 Grimsby: Paul Hurst's Mariners relegated from Sky Bet League Two".
- ↑ "Jay Matete's Grimsby Town loan comes to an end after unsuccessful appeal". Grimsbylive. 30 April 2021.
- ↑ "Sunderland unveil Jay Matete on long term deal in early hours of Tuesday". February 2022.
- ↑ "Sunderland confirm late deadline day signing of Jay Matete from Fleetwood Town". February 2022.
- ↑ "Wanderers Seal Matete Loan Deal". 8 August 2024.
- ↑ "Jay Matete: Sunderland midfielder signs for MK Dons". BBC. 9 January 2026. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
- ↑ "Accrington 0-2 MK Dons - Wiles scores first goal for Dons". BBC. 17 January 2026. Retrieved 18 January 2026.
- ↑ "Matete adds to Don's injury woes with hamstring fear". Milton Keynes Citizen. 18 February 2026. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
- ↑ "Milton Keynes Dons 3-0 Tranmere Rovers: Hosts promoted to League One". BBC. 25 April 2026. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
- ↑ "Games played by Jay Matete in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- 1 2 "Games played by Jay Matete in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- 1 2 "Games played by Jay Matete in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
- 1 2 "Games played by Jay Matete in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
- ↑ "Games played by Jay Matete in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
- ↑ "Games played by Jay Matete in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
- ↑ "Games played by Jay Matete in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
- ↑ Paddy, Chris (21 May 2022). "Sunderland 2–0 Wycombe". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
- ↑ "Plymouth beat Port Vale to win League One title". BBC Sport. 7 May 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ↑ Pilnick, Brent (2 April 2023). "Bolton crush Plymouth to win Papa Johns Trophy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 August 2023.