Two clubs are now trying to sign this rarely-seen Sunderland player before the transfer deadline.
More than three weeks after the January transfer window opened, it looks like Sunderland’s transfer plans are starting to get going.
Michael Beale looks poised to get his first signing over the line with reports last night revealing that Callum Styles is thought to be closing in on a move to the Stadium of Light, after he was left out of the Barnsley side that played Oxford United last night.
And there could be a few leaving Wearside in the coming week, with Jay Matete the latest to be linked with a potential exit this month.
Graham Falk says ‘two clubs trying to sign’ Sunderland man Jay Matete
Matete, 22, hasn’t had an easy ride since he joined Sunderland from Fleetwood Town in January 2022.
He impressed in his initial appearances and helped the club earn promotion from League One, then helping Plymouth Argyle earn promotion the following season.
But returning to Sunderland in the summer, Matete would’ve been hoping to reinstate his place in the first-team, but he’s yet to make a single Championship appearance this season.
Injury has kept him sidelined but he made the bench against Ipswich Town earlier in the month.
Now though, journalist Graham Falk says that there are two unnamed clubs trying to sign Matete before the February 1st transfer deadline.
He posted on X:
Matete can have a part to play under Michael Beale
Beale putting Matete on the bench against Ipswich proved that the Englishman is definitely in his thinking, but Beale then leaving him out of the side that played against Hull could suggest that he’s well down the pecking order.
He’s showed in the past that he’s a player with energy and passing ability in the middle of the pitch and if he’s not going to play at Sunderland, his development would be better-served elsewhere.
But Beale is facing a bit of a midfield crisis right now; Pierre Ekwah remains a talking point amid his patchy run of form and after him and Dan Neil, Sunderland really don’t have too many options to deploy in front of the defence.
So Matete may be used in a rotational role in the second half of the season. But if the Black Cats choose to sign someone new in that area, that would all but kick Matete out of the first-team picture.
Whether or not clubs are trying to sign him on a permanent deal or on loan remains to be seen; he’s under contract at Sunderland for two more years and so the club might fancy seeing how he performs out on loan before making a decision on his long-term future, with League One a likely level.
Up next for the Black Cats is a home game vs Stoke City this weekend.