Jay Matete

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 24) [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
0000–2018	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	0	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15:30, 9 January 2026 (UTC)

Jay Matete (born 11 February 2001) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for EFL League Two club Milton Keynes Dons

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

Fleetwood Town

In 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)

On 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

On 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

On 9 January 2026, Matete joined EFL League Two club Milton Keynes Dons for an undisclosed fee, ending his four-year association with Sunderland. ^[15]

Career statistics

As of 3 May 2025

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 [16]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	3 [a]	0	3	0
	2020–21 [17]	League One	7	0	0	0	2	0	4 [a]	0	13	0
	2021–22 [18]	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 [17]	League Two	20	3	—		—		—		20	3
Sunderland	2021–22 [18]	League One	14	0	—		—		2 [b]	0	16	0
	2022–23 [19]	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 [19]	League One	19	1	0	0	0	0	3 [a]	0	22	1
Oxford United (loan)	2023–24 [20]	League One	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
Bolton Wanderers (loan)	2024–25 [21]	League One	35	3	1	0	3	0	6	0	45	3
Milton Keynes Dons	2025–26 [22]	League Two	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
Career total			129	8	2	0	7	0	21	1	159	9

1. Appearances in Football League Trophy
2. Appearances in EFL League One play-offs

Honours

Sunderland

• EFL League One play-offs: 2022 ^[23]

Plymouth Argyle

• EFL League One: 2022–23 ^[24]
• EFL Trophy runner-up: 2022–23 ^[25]

References

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.^{[ dead link ]}
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. "Wanderers Seal Matete Loan Deal". 8 August 2024.
15. "Jay Matete: Sunderland midfielder signs for MK Dons". BBC. 9 January 2026. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
16. "Games played by Jay Matete in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
17. "Games played by Jay Matete in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
18. "Games played by Jay Matete in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
19. "Games played by Jay Matete in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
20. "Games played by Jay Matete in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
21. "Games played by Jay Matete in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
22. "Games played by Jay Matete in 2025/2026". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
23. Paddy, Chris (21 May 2022). "Sunderland 2–0 Wycombe". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
24. "Plymouth beat Port Vale to win League One title". BBC Sport. 7 May 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
25. Pilnick, Brent (2 April 2023). "Bolton crush Plymouth to win Papa Johns Trophy". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 August 2023.