The Plymouth view on Jay Matete ahead of Sunderland return following second League One promotion

Jay Matete is set to return to Sunderland this summer following a loan spell at Plymouth - but how did he fare at Home Park?

The 22-year-old made 19 League One appearances for Argyle as Steven Schumacher’s side won promotion from the third tier.

To find out more, we caught up with Tom Sleeman from Argyle Life to ask about Matete’s time in the South West.

How would you assess Matete’s loan spell at Plymouth?

TS: “I think Matete’s loan spell with Argyle was one that perhaps suited us more than it did him.

“His infectious enthusiasm and willingness to get stuck in often meant that it was a risk to start him towards the end of the season with such a fine line separating ourselves, Ipswich and Sheffield Wednesday from promotion.

“I think this was reflective of him starting six of the first 10 games he was with us, but then only two of the next 11 after that.

“Towards the end of the season, Matete was often deployed within the final 20 minutes of games to help see out results, and doing so to great effect, breaking up play and often earning a booking in the process. “

“Despite that, there’s a lot of talent in Matete who is clearly technically gifted and with a few tweaks to his discipline and positional awareness he has the potential to become a fantastic player in the future.

What position and system has he been playing in?

TS: “Matete played as part of a defensive midfield two in a 3-4-2-1 formation and sometimes in a more advanced role, replacing an attacking midfielder rather than a defensive one as a substitute.

“Towards the end of the season in particular we became a lot more conservative in our approach to games and this often meant that both defensive midfielders were expected to take a more reserved approach to getting forward, leaving this to our wing-backs and attacking midfielders.

“Matete fits more into the box-to-box midfield role I feel. This was reflective as he was often trying to bomb forward to get the ball, but he became more disciplined in this regard the more that his loan spell went on.“

Could Plymouth try to re-sign him this summer?

TS: “I think that it would be received warmly if Matete were to return to the club as he clearly has a lot of potential.

“Despite this, any deal would not be straightforward at this present time.

“A player of his calibre would suit our current transfer model in terms of bringing in young, promising players and developing them, but with three years left on his current deal, I wouldn’t expect him to be cheap.

Do you think the loan spell at Plymouth has benefitted his career?

TS: “I think that while Matete might have been frustrated with his lack of starts towards the end of his spell, he will have learned a great deal while down in Devon.

“It was clear that his discipline and positional awareness was improving greatly and this will put him in good stead for next season, wherever that might be.

“Of course, achieving a second successive promotion from League One will provide him with invaluable experience being in and amongst that mentality of a winning culture going forward.”