NEW GULL PROFILE

Sam Jones – @samuellejones

Sam talks about the newest Gull

Just like the good old London buses, two new signings were announced by United in quick succession. Well, two in two days but in the grand scheme of things that’s basically at the same time. The first was Emmanuel Ilesanmi, a loanee from Derby, and the second was attacking midfielder Matt Jay who signed on a free after being released by Colchester. A player who has spent most of his career in the Football League, this feels like a hell of a signing. But, who exactly is United’s new 27?

👀 ✍️ #BackInTheBay #tufc pic.twitter.com/hOLfHYImuh
— Torquay United FC (@TUFC1899) January 24, 2025

CAREER SUMMARY

Matt is a local lad, having been born in the Bay in 1996. He grew up in Torquay and attended South Dartmoor Community College with a certain Jamie Reid and some other kid called Ollie Watkins. He joined the Grecian Academy in 2003, spending 10 years there before making his professional debut in 2013 in the Football League Trophy. The next few seasons saw loans to Weston, Hayes and Yeading and Truro before becoming part of the Exeter first team in 2017. He became Club Captain in 2021 after Jake Taylor left for Stevenage, and wrote his name into Grecian folklore in 2021 by scoring the winner against Barrow that secured promotion to League One. He ended up making over 200 appearances for Exeter, before moving across the country to Colchester in 2023 for an undisclosed fee. He struggled to settle in Essex, and was released from his contract in January 2025 to move back home and sign with the Gulls.

HIGHLIGHTS

Here he is scoring the goal that sent Exeter up to League One:

And here he is scoring his only goal for Colchester in a 2-2 draw at Swindon:

TALKING ABOUT MATT

Paul Wotton on the MJ – ““MJ is someone who I’ve known about for years. He brings a wealth of experience, and he has captained a League Two promotion-winning side. He’s obviously got tremendous qualities as a football player, and he adds huge value and experience to the squad.”

JAY STATS

DATE OF BIRTH: 27TH FEBRUARY 1996 – 28 YEARS-OLD

HEIGHT: 1.78M

POSITION: ATTACKING MIDFIELDER

L2 24-25 STATS: APPEARANCES 0, GOALS 0, YELLOW CARDS 0, RED CARDS 0

MOST LIKELY/LEAST LIKELY

Most Likely To

Be a level above anyone in this League. This signing, at least on paper, is the definition of a marquee signing. This is a player who is only 28 and has played in the Football League his whole career. Lets hope this isn’t another Ben Harding situation…
Help take our attack up a notch. We’re a very solid team this season, but its clear that we’re not scoring enough goals. Hopefully Matt can help unlock the ability we have up front and carry us to the title.
Be seen in Park Lane. Lets be honest, if he grew up with Reidy we know exactly where he will be.

Least Likely To

Hit the ground running. He really hasn’t played much football in the last 18 months, with only 1 appearance for Colchester this season (which came in the Football League Trophy) so will need time to get up to speed.
Win many headers. No matter how good he might be, he’s about half the size of most NLS defenders.

CONCLUSION

Matt Jay feels like the signing we have been waiting on for a couple of years. The days of the infamous marquee signing being Corrie Andrews, Brad Ash or the concept of Ronald Huth seem to have disappeared. This could be a truly spectacular signing for this level. Its also a nice story, of a local boy coming back to his hometown club to help then win the title. What more could you ask for?

In all seriousness, this feels like a fantastic statement of intent from Wotton and the Bryn Consortium. A very talented player, who has also been a captain too is exactly what we need. If we can stay fit, the squad has real depth and quality now and there is no excuse not to really push for the title. Long way to go, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Matt ended up being the difference maker.