Matty James
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Matthew Lee James (born 22 July 1991) 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 le ...
who plays for
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 ...
club
Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
. His regular position is in
midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...
, but he can play in
defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...
when required. James began his career with
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
, where his brother
Reece Reece derives from the Welsh name Rhys. It may refer to: * Recce (filmmaking) * Reece (name), people with the given name or surname * A-Reece (born 1997), South African rapper and record producer * Reece, Kansas, United States * Mount Reece, in th ...
also came through the youth ranks, but left the club for a spell on loan at
Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...
before joining
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 ...
on a permanent basis in 2012.


Club career


Manchester United

Born in
Bacup Bacup ( , ) is a town in the Rossendale Borough in Lancashire, England, in the South Pennines close to Lancashire's boundaries with West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. The town is in the Rossendale Valley and the upper Irwell Valley, east of ...
, Lancashire, James joined the
Manchester United Academy Manchester United Football Club Under-21s is the most senior of Manchester United's youth teams and the club's former reserve team. They play in the Premier League 2, the highest tier of the Professional Development League. The team is effectiv ...
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 The Premier Academy League (sometimes abbreviated as FAPAL) was the top level of youth football in England before it was to be replaced by a new league proposed by the Elite Player Performance Plan in 2012, which was accepted by the 72 member c ...
fixture against
Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
. 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 defence. 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. James signed his first professional contract with Manchester United in July 2009, before playing in the 1–0 win over
Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...
in the final of the 2008–09 Lancashire Senior Cup. Prior to the first team's match against
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
in the Fourth Round of the League Cup on 27 October 2009, James was given a new squad number (43), and was named as an unused substitute.


Preston North End (loan)

In February 2010, James followed in the footsteps of Manchester United teammate
Danny Welbeck Daniel Nii Tackie Mensah Welbeck (born 26 November 1990) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Brighton & Hove Albion. Welbeck made his way through the youth teams at Manchester United before making his senior ...
by signing on loan with
Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...
until the end of the 2009–10 season. He went straight into the Preston first-team for their match against
Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
on 9 February 2010, and scored within 10 minutes as his deflected shot from outside the penalty area beat Sheffield United goalkeeper Ian Bennett. 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. On 30 December 2010,
Sir Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all time ...
chose to recall
Ritchie De Laet Ritchie Ria Alfons De Laet (, born 28 November 1988) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Royal Antwerp in the Belgian First Division A. De Laet played for various youth teams before joining the Royal Antwerp youth ...
, 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.


Leicester City


2012–13 season

On 15 May 2012, James and De Laet moved to
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 ...
in a double transfer, for which the fee was undisclosed. The pair each signed three-year contracts. James, along with De Laet and
Jamie Vardy Jamie Richard Vardy (''né'' Gill; born 11 January 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for club Leicester City. Regarded as one of the best strikers in the world, Vardy is known for his prolific goalscoring aided ...
, made his competitive debut for Leicester against
Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...
, 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 In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
tie. 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 Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
on the final day of the season, helping Leicester to the final play-off position. James started both legs of the eventual 3–2 aggregate defeat to
Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
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 Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in C ...
, after being shown two yellow cards. 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 The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
, collecting the
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 ...
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. On 10 January 2015, James picked up the second red card of his career in the 1–0 victory over
Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...
, he was given a straight red following a strong challenge on
Jores Okore Tetchi Jores Charlemagne Ulrich Okore (; born 11 August 1992), known as Jores Okore, is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Changchun Yatai. Okore is considered a capable and aggressive defender, who is known for his ...
and an ensuing altercation with
Ciaran Clark Ciaran Clark (born 26 September 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a central defender, central midfielder and left-back for Championship club Sheffield United, on loan from Premier League club Newcastle United and the Republic of I ...
that resulted in Clark receiving a second yellow card himself. In a 2–0 win over
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
on 9 May, James ruptured his anterior ligaments and was ruled out for between six and nine months.


2015–16 season

Due to his injury, James missed the entire 2015–16 campaign, in which the club became the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...
champions.


2016–17 season

At the beginning of the season, James played with Leicester City U23 squad to regain fitness. On 26 November 2016, James returned to the first-team squad against
Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...
. On 25 January 2017, he joined
Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
on a loan deal until the summer of 2017.


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 Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...
.


2020–21 season

On 16 October 2020 he returned to Barnsley on loan. On 6 January 2021, James joined Championship side
Coventry City Coventry City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of the English footbal ...
on loan. He scored his first goal for Coventry on 27 February 2021 in a 1-1 draw against
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. T ...
. On 21 May 2021 Leicester announced his departure from the club.


Bristol City

On 23 June 2021, James joined Championship club
Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
on a three-year deal.


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 The UEFA European Under-19 Championship 2009 Final Tournament was held in Ukraine in the cities of Donetsk and Mariupol. Players born after 1 January 1990 were eligible to participate in this competition. Qualification Qualification for the final ...
. 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. His younger brother,
Reece James Reece James may refer to: * Reece James (footballer, born 1993), English footballer born in Bacup, Lancashire * Reece James (footballer, born 1999), English footballer born in Redbridge, London See also * James Reece (disambiguation) * Rhys James ...
, currently plays for
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
in the
EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...
. He was educated at
Fearns Community Sports College The Valley Leadership Academy (formerly Fearns Community Sports College) is an 11–16 co-educational secondary school with academy status in Stacksteads, Bacup, Lancashire, England. It was formerly a community school and adopted its present n ...
. He donated two therapy tilt-in space chairs, worth about £2000, to
Fairfield General Hospital Fairfield General Hospital is a hospital in Bury, Greater Manchester. It is managed by the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital has its origins in the Bury Union Workhouse Infirmary which was completed in 1905. The f ...
where his mother Maxine works as a nurse, in 2020.


Career statistics


Honours

Leicester City *
Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...
: 2013–14 Individual *
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 ...
Young Player of the Season: 2013–14


References


External links

*
Profile
at ManUtd.com {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Matty 1991 births Living people People from Bacup English footballers England youth international footballers Association football defenders Association football midfielders Association football utility players Manchester United F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Leicester City F.C. players Coventry City F.C. players Barnsley F.C. players Bristol City F.C. players English Football League players Premier League players