Exclusive: £10k-a-week Sunderland player set for Stadium of Light exit to EFL club | OneFootball

Jay Matete is a peripheral figure on Wearside, and he's looking likely to move on this month to a League Two club

The rise of Sunderland in the Premier League - their first season in the top flight of English football since 2016-17 - has certainly been a sight to behold for Black Cats fans and neutrals alike.

Having snuck through the Championship play-off final at Wembley with a last-minute winner against Sheffield United, the Wearsiders went on a summer transfer splurge, with buys such as Nordi Mukiele, Omar Alderete, Robin Roefs, Noah Sadiki and many others proving very popular, and they have transformed Regis Le Bris' side.

It has however left a number of players from their League One and Championship days on the sidelines. Figures such as Dan Neil have not had a look in, and there's still some players still lingering from their third tier seasons too.

One of those though looks set for the Stadium of Light exit door this month, and he's on the verge of dropping down three levels into League Two.

Jay Matete set for Sunderland AFC exit

Football League World has been exclusively informed that Sunderland outcast Jay Matete is finally looking likely to move on - nearly four years after he arrived at the club from Fleetwood Town.

The Black Cats were pushing for promotion at that time, and on transfer deadline day in the mid-season transfer window of 2021-22, the arrival of Matete from the Cod Army was overshadowed by the return of Jermain Defoe to the club.

Matete was a regular feature for the rest of that season under Alex Neil, but played a minimal part of their League One play-off campaign and didn't take to the pitch in the final against Wycombe Wanderers, which was the beginning of the end of his Sunderland career.

A lack of game-time in the Championship saw Matete loaned to Plymouth of League One in January 2023, and he also spent a short time at Oxford United at the same level in the second half of 2023-24, before spending the full 2024-25 season on loan at Bolton Wanderers - also in the third tier.

Now 24 years old and with less than six months remaining on his contract, where Capology estimate he earns £10,000 a week, Matete now looks set to leave Sunderland, having only featured for their under-21's in the National League Cup this season.

MK Dons and Paul Warne set to pounce on Jay Matete, Sunderland situation

And FLW can reveal that League Two promotion chasers MK Dons are in talks with Sunderland over bringing Matete to Buckinghamshire.

We also exclusively broke the news earlier this week that Huddersfield Town midfielder Ben Wiles was on the verge of re-uniting with his former Rotherham United manager Paul Warne at Stadium MK, with that deal soon to be confirmed, but extra midfield strength is being eyed up for the final few months of the season.

Matete is now well in the sights of the Dons, and it can be revealed that they are in talks with Sunderland to bring Matete to the club.

The defensive midfielder has played 20 times at fourth tier level during his time on loan at Grimsby Town in 2021, who he joined from Fleetwood, and a move to MK Dons would represent a move closer to home for the Lambeth-born battler.