Matty James

Matty James

James playing for Leicester City in 2015
Personal information
Full name	Matthew Lee James [1]
Date of birth	(1991-07-22) 22 July 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth	Bacup, England
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.81 m) [2]
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Wrexham
Number	37
Youth career
2007–2010	Manchester United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009–2012	Manchester United	0	(0)
2010	→ Preston North End (loan)	18	(2)
2010–2011	→ Preston North End (loan)	10	(0)
2012–2021	Leicester City	101	(4)
2017	→ Barnsley (loan)	18	(1)
2020–2021	→ Barnsley (loan)	15	(0)
2021	→ Coventry City (loan)	23	(3)
2021–2024	Bristol City	104	(7)
2024–	Wrexham	13	(0)
International career‡
2007	England U16	5	(0)
2007–2008	England U17	10	(0)
2009–2010	England U19	13	(0)
2009	England U20	6	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:10, 23 January 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:17, 4 January 2022 (UTC)

Matthew Lee James (born 22 July 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays for League One club Wrexham. His regular position is in midfield, but he can play in defence when required. James began his career with Manchester United, where his brother Reece also came through the youth ranks, but left the club for a spell on loan at Preston North End before joining Leicester City on a permanent basis in 2012.

Club career

Manchester United

Born in Bacup, Lancashire, James joined the Manchester United Academy at an early age, and made his first appearance for the under-18 side in October 2005, at the age of 14. His next appearance for the under-18s came just over a year later, when he came on as a substitute for Magnus Eikrem in a Premier Academy League fixture against Manchester City. He made a further eight appearances for the under-18s during the 2006–07 season, before establishing himself as a regular in the team in 2007–08, although he began the season filling in in defense. James scored his first goals in a Manchester United shirt during the 2007–08 season, both of them in the league. After making his first appearance for the reserve team in November 2007, James became a regular for the reserves during the 2008–09 season, while remaining a relative mainstay in the under-18 side. At the end of a season in which he had made 22 appearances for the reserves and 14 for the under-18s, James received his first call-up to the Manchester United senior team on 24 May 2009. Given the number 47 jersey, James was named on the bench for the match, but did not take to the field. ^[3]

James signed his first professional contract with Manchester United in July 2009, ^[4] before playing in the 1–0 win over Bolton Wanderers in the final of the 2008–09 Lancashire Senior Cup. ^[5] Prior to the first team's match against Barnsley in the Fourth Round of the League Cup on 27 October 2009, James was given a new squad number (43), ^[6] and was named as an unused substitute. ^[7]

Preston North End (loan)

In February 2010, James followed in the footsteps of Manchester United teammate Danny Welbeck by signing on loan with Preston North End until the end of the 2009–10 season. ^[8] He went straight into the Preston first-team for their match against Sheffield United on 9 February 2010, and scored within 10 minutes as his deflected shot from outside the penalty area beat Sheffield United goalkeeper Ian Bennett. ^[9] James returned to Manchester United at the end of the 2009–10 season, but rejoined Preston on a season-long loan on 2 July 2010. ^[10]

On 30 December 2010, Sir Alex Ferguson chose to recall Ritchie De Laet, Joshua King and James from their loans at Preston after the sacking of his son. De Laet and King returned immediately, but due to the terms of James' loan, he did not return to Manchester United until 4 January 2011. ^[11]

Leicester City

2012–13 season

On 15 May 2012, James and De Laet moved to Leicester City in a double transfer, for which the fee was undisclosed. The pair each signed three-year contracts. ^[12] James, along with De Laet and Jamie Vardy, made his competitive debut for Leicester against Torquay United, scoring his first goal for the club (and Leicester's third of the night) as the Foxes ran out 4–0 winners in the League Cup tie. ^[13] James added another 3 goals (all in the league) over the course of the season, including one in the 3–2 win against Nottingham Forest on the final day of the season, helping Leicester to the final play-off position. ^[14] James started both legs of the eventual 3–2 aggregate defeat to Watford in the Championship play-off semi-final.

2013–14 season

James found himself starting more games during the 2013–14 season, being in the line-up for Leicester's first five league games before being controversially shown the first red card of his career in the 1–2 defeat to Charlton Athletic, after being shown two yellow cards. ^[15] On 8 February 2014, James scored his only goal of the season, helping Leicester come from 2–0 down to draw 2–2 with Watford. James played 35 times in the league as Leicester won promotion to the Premier League, collecting the Championship trophy along the way.

2014–15 season

Having missed the start of the season through injury, James made his first Premier League appearance on 21 September 2014, as a second-half substitute in a 5–3 victory against his former club, Manchester United. ^[16] On 10 January 2015, James picked up the second red card of his career in the 1–0 victory over Aston Villa, he was given a straight red following a strong challenge on Jores Okore and an ensuing altercation with Ciaran Clark that resulted in Clark receiving a second yellow card himself. ^[17] In a 2–0 win over Southampton on 9 May, James ruptured his anterior ligaments and was ruled out for between six and nine months. ^[18]

2015–16 season

Due to his injury, James missed the entire 2015–16 campaign, in which the club became the Premier League champions. ^[19]

2016–17 season

At the beginning of the season, James played with Leicester City U23 squad to regain fitness. ^[20] On 26 November 2016, James returned to the first-team squad against Middlesbrough. ^[21]

On 25 January 2017, he joined Barnsley on a loan deal until the summer of 2017. ^[22]

2017–18 season

On 19 August 2017, James made his first start for the club since May 2015 in a 2–0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion. ^[23]

2020–21 season

On 16 October 2020 he returned to Barnsley on loan. ^[24]

On 6 January 2021, James joined Championship side Coventry City on loan. ^[25] He scored his first goal for Coventry on 27 February 2021 in a 1–1 draw against Blackburn Rovers. ^[26] On 21 May 2021 Leicester announced his departure from the club. ^[27]

Bristol City

On 23 June 2021, James joined Championship club Bristol City on a three-year deal. ^[28]

On 11 May 2024, James was released from Bristol City following the expiration of his contract at the end of the 2023–24 Championship season. ^[29]

Wrexham

On 25 October 2024, it was announced James had signed a short-term deal at Wrexham. ^[30]

On 19 December 2024, it was announced James had signed an extension at Wrexham through the 2025–26 season. ^[31]

International career

James has played regularly for the England Under-16s and Under-17s sides, and in 2009 he was called up to the Under-19s for the 2009 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. ^[32] He was named captain and in his first game as skipper, England recorded a 3–2 victory in their opening game against Austria.

Personal life

James' father, Linton James, played non-league football for Bacup Borough and later worked as assistant manager of the club. ^[33] His younger brother, Reece James, currently plays for Rotherham United in the EFL League One. He was educated at Fearns Community Sports College. ^[34]

He donated two therapy tilt-in space chairs, worth about £2000, to Fairfield General Hospital where his mother Maxine works as a nurse, in 2020. ^[35]

Career statistics

As of match played 23 January 2025

Club statistics

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Manchester United	2009–10 [36]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2010–11 [37]		0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2011–12 [38]		0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Preston North End (loan)	2009–10 [36]	Championship	18	2	0	0	0	0	—		18	2
Preston North End (loan)	2010–11 [37]	Championship	10	0	0	0	2	1	—		12	1
Leicester City	2012–13 [39]	Championship	24	3	2	0	2	1	2 [a]	0	30	4
	2013–14 [40]		35	1	1	0	4	0	—		40	1
	2014–15 [41]	Premier League	27	0	2	0	0	0	—		29	0
	2015–16 [42]		0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2016–17 [43]		1	0	0	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2017–18 [44]		13	0	2	0	0	0	—		15	0
	2018–19 [45]		0	0	1	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2019–20 [46]		1	0	0	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2020–21 [47]		0	0	—		0	0	—		0	0
	Total		101	4	8	0	6	1	2	0	117	5
Leicester City U23s	2016—17 [43]	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2 [b]	0	2	0
Barnsley (loan)	2016–17 [43]	Championship	18	1	0	0	0	0	—		18	1
Leicester City U21s	2019—20 [47]	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1 [b]	0	1	0
Barnsley (loan)	2020–21 [47]	Championship	15	0	0	0	0	0	—		15	0
Coventry City (loan)	2020–21 [47]	Championship	23	3	1	0	0	0	—		24	3
Bristol City	2021–22 [48]	Championship	33	1	0	0	0	0	—		33	1
	2022–23 [49]		35	3	3	0	1	0	—		39	0
	2023–24 [50]		36	3	4	0	3	0	—		43	3
	Total		104	7	7	0	4	0	0	0	115	7
Wrexham	2024–25 [51]	League One	13	0	0	0	0	0	1 [b]	0	14	0
Career totals			302	17	16	0	12	2	6	0	336	19

1. Appearances in the 2013 Football League play-offs
2. Appearances in the EFL Trophy

Honours

Leicester City

• Football League Championship: 2013–14 ^[52]

Individual

• Leicester City Young Player of the Season: 2013–14 ^[53]

References

1. "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
2. "Matty James". Leicester City F.C. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
3. Hughes, Ian (24 May 2009). "Hull 0–1 Man Utd". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
4. Coppack, Nick (2 July 2009). "Teen trio turn pro". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Archived from the original on 1 September 2009. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
5. Bartram, Steve (17 August 2009). "Reserves: Bolton 0 Utd 1". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Archived from the original on 12 December 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
6. Hibbs, Ben (27 October 2009). "Today at Old Trafford – Tuesday 27 October  – 09:01". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Archived from the original on 14 February 2010. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
7. Stevenson, Jonathan (27 October 2009). "Barnsley 0–2 Man Utd". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
8. "Preston North End set to sign Man Utd's Matthew James". BBC Sport. 8 February 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
9. "Preston 2–1 Sheff Utd". BBC Sport. 9 February 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
10. "Manchester United's Matthew James rejoins Preston". BBC Sport. 2 July 2010. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
11. "James Returns To United". pnefc.net. Preston North End FC. 4 January 2011. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
12. "Agreement reached for United duo". LCFC.co.uk. Leicester City FC. 15 May 2012. Archived from the original on 18 May 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
13. "Torquay 0–4 Leicester". BBC Sport. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
14. "Nott'm Forest 2–3 Leicester". BBC Sport. 4 May 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
15. "Charlton 2 Leicester 1: Why did the ref send Matty James off?". Leicester Mercury. 2 September 2013. Archived from the original on 11 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
16. "Leicester City 5–3 Manchester United". BBC Sport. 21 September 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
17. "Report: Leicester City 1 Aston Villa 0". Leicester City. 10 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
18. "Matty James: Leicester City midfielder out for up to nine months". BBC Sport. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
19. James, Stuart (8 September 2017). "Matty James: 'I was in so much pain I'll remember it for the rest of my life'". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
20. "Manchester United U23 vs. Leicester City U23 – 15 August 2016 – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
21. "Leicester City team news for Premier League clash with Middlesbrough: Matty James returns to squad". Leicester Mercury. 26 November 2016. Archived from the original on 27 November 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
22. "Reds Land Matty James!". Barnsley F.C.
23. McLeman, Neil (19 August 2017). "Matty James scouting report: Leicester midfielder proves he is ready to step into Chelsea target Danny Drinkwater's boots". Daily Mirror . Retrieved 19 August 2017.
24. "MATTY JAMES SIGNS ON LOAN". www.barnsleyfc.co.uk. 16 October 2020.
25. Blackwell, Jordan (6 January 2021). "Matty James loan confirmed with midfielder's Leicester City contract expiring". LeicestershireLive. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
26. "Blackburn 1–1 Coventry". BBC. 27 February 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
27. "Matty James To Leave Leicester City". Leicester City F.C. 21 May 2021.
28. "Matty James is a Robin". bcfc.co.uk. 23 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
29. "City announce retained list". bcfc.co.uk. 11 May 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
30. "Matty James signs short-term contract at Wrexham AFC". Wrexham AFC. 25 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
31. "James signs new 18-month deal with Wrexham". BBC. 19 December 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
32. "England U19 Players". TheFA.com. The Football Association. Archived from the original on 5 April 2009. Retrieved 10 February 2010.
33. "Dream debut for Valley star Matty". Rossendale Free Press . 25 September 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
34. "James the first". Rossendale Free Press . 4 May 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
35. "The Loop". No. 8. Northern Care Alliance. Winter 2020.
36. "Games played by Matty James in 2009/2010". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
37. "Games played by Matty James in 2010/2011". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
38. "Games played by Matty James in 2011/2012". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
39. "Games played by Matty James in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
40. "Games played by Matty James in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
41. "Games played by Matty James in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
42. "Games played by Matty James in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
43. "Games played by Matty James in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
44. "Games played by Matty James in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
45. "Games played by Matty James in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
46. "Games played by Matty James in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
47. "Games played by Matty James in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
48. "Games played by Matty James in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
49. "Games played by Matty James in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
50. "Games played by Matty James in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
51. "Games played by Matty James in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
52. "Matty James To Leave Leicester City". LCFC.com. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
53. "Leicester City's Young Player Of The Season Winners". LCFC.com. Retrieved 16 June 2021.

External links

• Matty James at Soccerbase
• Profile at ManUtd.com