Gethin Wynne Jones (born 13 October 1995) is an Australian-born Welsh professional footballer who plays as a
right back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
for
League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
, Australia, and joined Everton's academy at the age of 12, signing from Wrexham's academy. His position switched from central midfield to right-back. While progressing through the ranks, Jones won Goal of the Season at the end of the 2011–12 season. He helped Everton win the Under-18 Premier League and in May 2014, then signed a one-year professional contract.
He made his professional debut for the club on 11 December 2014, replacing
Tyias Browning
Tyias Charles Browning (born 27 May 1994), also known as Jiang Guangtai (), is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Chinese Super League club Shanghai Port. Born in Liverpool, England to a mother of Cantonese descent, he has ...
in the final minute of a
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
match against
FC Krasnodar
FC Krasnodar is a Russian professional football club based in Krasnodar that plays in the Russian Premier League. The club was founded in 2008. In 2009, the club was promoted to the Russian First Division, the second highest division of the R ...
. Everton, having already advanced from the group, lost the match 0–1 at
Goodison Park
Goodison Park is a association football, football stadium in the Walton, Liverpool, Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area ...
. With one appearance made in the 2014–15 season, Jones signed a two-year contract with the club, keeping him until 2017.
On 25 March 2015, Jones was
loan
In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...
ed to
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
team Plymouth Argyle for the remainder of the season. He made his debut nine days later, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–1 draw with league leaders
Burton Albion
Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home grou ...
at
Home Park
Home Park is a football stadium in Plymouth, England. The ground has been the home of Football League One club Plymouth Argyle since 1901.the play-offs, featuring in the first leg of their eventual semi-final defeat to
Wycombe Wanderers
Wycombe Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play their ho ...
.
Jones joined
Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
side Barnsley on 18 January 2017, until the end of the 2016–17 season. Jones made his Barnsley debut three days later, where he made his first start and played the whole game, in a 3–2 win over
Leeds United
Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...
. Jones made eighteen appearances that season: seventeen in the League for Barnsley and one EFL Trophy appearance for Everton U23s against Blackpool.
Jones featured only once more in Everton colours in 2017–18, again in the EFL Trophy, in a defeat to
Notts County
Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...
.
Fleetwood Town
Jones signed a "long-term" deal at EFL League One side Fleetwood Town on 5 January 2018, ending a decade-long association with Everton. He was assigned squad number 19. Jones made his Cod Army début as an 84th-minute substitute on 13 January, replacing Lewie Coyle in a 2–1 win over
Southend United
Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of English football. Southend are known as ...
, before making his first Town start three days later in the
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
Leicester City
Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...
. His first league start for Fleetwood came on 20 January in a 2–1 defeat against fellow
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
club
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
.
He left Fleetwood Town by mutual consent on 19 August 2019.
Carlisle United
Jones signed a short-term deal at EFL League Two side Carlisle United on 13 September 2019. His contract was extended until the end of the season on 10 January 2020. Jones left Carlisle United following the 2019/20 season after he declined a contract extension with the club.
Bolton Wanderers
On 4 August 2020, Jones signed for Bolton Wanderers on a one year contract with the option of another year's extension. His debut came on 5 September in Bolton's first match of the season, a 1–2 home defeat against Bradford in the first round of the EFL Cup. On 5 December 2020 he scored the first goal of his professional career when he scored Bolton's first goal in a 3–6 defeat against
Port Vale
Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...
. On 8 May 2021, it was revealed Bolton had activated the extension in his contract. On 25 May, Jones revealed he had signed a new two-year contract and on 5 November, he signed a one-year contract extension extending it to 2024.
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
.
Jones was included in the Wales U16 side in the 2010
Victory Shield
The Victory Shield is an annual football tournament competed for by the under-16 teams of Scotland, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The Victory Shield had traditionally been competed for by the four Home Nations, but the Football ...
, playing against the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,Scottish, and Northern Irish equivalents. Having captained the side at U16 level, Jones also skippered Wales U17.
Jones was called up by Wales U19 for the first time, following his stint at U16 and U17. Jones made his Wales U19 debut on 10 September 2012, where he captained the side and played 90 minutes, in a 3–1 loss against Germany U19.
Two years later, Jones was called up by Wales U21 for the first time and made his Wales U21 debut on 5 September 2014, playing the whole game, in a 2–2 draw against Finland U21. Like his time at Wales U16, Wales U17 and Wales U19, Jones had captained Wales U21 as well.
Having trained with the full Welsh side, reports in November 2016 suggested Jones had been contacted by
Football Federation Australia
Football Australia is the governing body of soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only establ ...
with a view to Jones representing Australia. In a 2017 interview, Jones confirmed that this had occurred and the offer was to play for the Australia U23 side.
In December 2020, he was asked in the Bolton Wanderers official match day programme whether he considered himself Welsh or Australian to which he replied:
''"I'd have to say Wales, obviously I was born in Australia but I've lived in Wales pretty much my whole life and speak the Welsh language. I'm 100% Welsh."''
Personal life
In 2021, Jones's mother was diagnosed with
motor neurone disease
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most commo ...
. On 23 September, Bolton Wanderers (Jones' team at the time) announced the first team would play a friendly against a team consisting of legendary Bolton players on 13 November to help raise money for his mother's recovery. A quarter of the money raised would also go to former Bolton player Stephen Darby's charity Darby Rimmer MND Foundation, as he had also suffered from Motor Neurone Disease which had forced him to retire. His mother died on 2 March 2022.