Matthew William Jay (born 27 February 1996) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

Early life and education

Jay was born in

Torbay Torbay is a borough and unitary authority in Devon, south west England. It is governed by Torbay Council and consists of of land, including the resort towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, located on east-facing Tor Bay, part of Lyme ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

and he attended

South Dartmoor Community College South Dartmoor Community College (SDCC) is a co-educational academy school located in Ashburton, Devon, England. The number of students on roll is 1,650. The school has a sixth form centre and has become a Specialist Sports College with Trai ...

Playing career

Exeter City

Jay made his professional debut for Exeter in a 2–0 loss 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 ...

in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

St James Park St James Park and variants may refer to: Municipalities * St James Park, New Zealand, a suburb of Hamilton, New Zealand Football stadiums * St James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, England * St James Park (Exeter), Exeter, England * St James Park, gro ...

on 3 September 2013. On 22 November 2015, Jay joined National League South side Hayes & Yeading United on a one-month loan. He scored his first goal for Exeter in an EFL Trophy tie against

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and t ...

on 30 August 2016. Jay finally scored his first league goal on the 8th of April, in the 2017–18 campaign, away to Cambridge United in a game where Exeter came twice from behind to win 3–2. This came to the delight of many players and fans alike following a run of impressive games starting and from the bench. In 2021, Jay scored his first career hat trick in a 4–0 victory against

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profession ...

. After a month in which he scored five goals and got one assist, Jay received the League Two Player of the Month award for March 2021. At the end of the 2020–21 season, he was named as the Devon side's Player of the Season, and on 29 April 2021 was named in the 2020–21 EFL League Two Team of the Season at the league's annual awards ceremony. Jay was awarded the Exeter captaincy following the departure of Jake Taylor in the summer of 2021 and was given the number 7 shirt. He continued his goalscoring form into the 2021–22 season, netting 16 times in all competitions. The most significant of these came in a 2–1 home win over Barrow, where he scored a late winner, chesting the ball down from a Josh Key cross and slamming home through the legs of Paul Farman on the volley to secure his boyhood club's return to

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 ...

after a decade in League Two.

Colchester United

On 9 January 2023, Jay signed for

for an undisclosed fee.

Career statistics

Honours

Exeter City *

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 ...

runner-up: 2021–22 Individual * PFA Team of the Year: 2020–21 League Two, 2021–22 League Two * EFL League Two Team of the Season: 2020–21 *Exeter City Player of the Season: 2020–21 * League Two Player of the Month: March 2021

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jay, Matt 1996 births Living people English men's footballers Footballers from Devon Men's association football forwards Exeter City F.C. players Weston-super-Mare A.F.C. players Hayes & Yeading United F.C. players Truro City F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players Colchester United F.C. players