Matty Willock

Matthew Anthony Willock (born 20 August 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder.[4] Born in England, he represents the Montserrat national team.

Matty Willock
Personal information
Full name Matthew Anthony Willock[1]
Date of birth (1996-08-20) 20 August 1996[2]
Place of birth Waltham Forest, England
Height 5 ft 8 in (1.72 m)[2]
Position(s) Central midfielder[3]
Youth career
Arsenal
2012–2017 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2019 Manchester United 0 (0)
2017–2018 → FC Utrecht (loan) 3 (0)
2017–2018 → Jong FC Utrecht (loan) 6 (0)
2018 → St Johnstone (loan) 11 (1)
2018 → St Mirren (loan) 12 (0)
2019 → Crawley Town (loan) 11 (0)
2019–2021 Gillingham 18 (0)
2021–2022 Salford City 11 (2)
International career‡
2021– Montserrat 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 December 2021
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21:25, 9 June 2021 (UTC)

Willock began his football career with Arsenal before moving to Manchester United, where he spent seven years. He went on loan to Dutch team FC Utrecht in 2017, and Scottish clubs St Johnstone and St Mirren the following year. In 2019, he went on loan to Crawley Town before being released by United, subsequently being signed by Gillingham, where he spent two years, then Salford City, where he remained for only one season. He has been a free agent since the end of the 2021–22 season.

Club career

Early career

Willock had a spell with the Arsenal youth ranks up until 2011, when he was released at the age of 15.[5] He subsequently had trials with Championship team Reading and Premier League team Sunderland prior to joining Manchester United in 2012.[5][6]

Manchester United

He first featured for the academy at the 2012 Northern Ireland Youth Soccer Tournament before playing for the Under-18s domestically, the Under-19s in the UEFA Youth League and then the Under-23s.[4][6] He appeared on the senior squad's bench twice during the 2016–17 season, being an unused substitute in home matches against West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace.[4][6] He signed a new two-year contract in August 2017, prior to leaving on loan.[7] On 7 June 2019, it was announced that, on 30 June, Willock would leave the club following the expiration of his contract.[8]

FC Utrecht loan

On 31 August 2017, Willock was loaned out to Eredivisie side FC Utrecht for the season.[9][10] He was assigned the number 26 shirt.[10] However, his first match in Utrecht colours came for the reserve team in the Eerste Divisie, making his professional debut in a 4–1 loss at home to De Graafschap.[4] On 20 September, Willock made his first start for the senior squad in a KNVB Cup first round tie against Ajax Amateurs at the Amsterdam Arena, he scored the fifth goal in a 6–0 victory.[4][11] His Eredivisie debut came on 1 October in an away draw versus Vitesse.[4] After five first-team appearances and one goal for FC Utrecht in all competitions, Willock's loan was terminated on 31 January 2018.[12]

St Johnstone loan

On 31 January 2018, Willock completed a loan move to Scottish Premiership team St Johnstone until June.[13][14] He made his debut for St Johnstone in a 1–0 defeat to Heart of Midlothian on 3 February.[4] His first goal for St Johnstone – and his first professional goal in British football – arrived on 31 March during a loss away against Aberdeen.[4]

St Mirren loan

In July 2018, Willock moved on loan to Scottish Premiership club St Mirren.[15] After featuring fourteen times in league and cup for St Mirren, Willock had his loan terminated on 21 December.[16]

Crawley Town loan

On 31 January 2019, Willock joined EFL League Two side Crawley Town on loan for the remainder of the 2018–19 season.[17] Having appeared in eleven matches for Crawley as they finished nineteenth, he returned to his parent club on 8 May.[18]

Gillingham

Willock completed a move to Gillingham of EFL League One on 13 June 2019.[19] He scored on his unofficial debut for the club, netting in a nine-goal pre-season victory away to Faversham Town on 6 July.[20][21] After suffering a hamstring injury soon after, Willock made his Gillingham debut on 31 August during a 5–0 victory over Bolton Wanderers.[4][22] At the end of the 2020–21 season, it was announced that the Kent club would not be renewing Willock's contract and he would therefore be departing after two seasons.[23]

Salford City

After spending two weeks on trial,[24] he signed for League Two club Salford City on 4 August.[25] Starting in central midfield on his début on 7 August, he scored Salford's equaliser in their opening game of the season in a 1–1 draw against Leyton Orient, described by Sky Sports as a "30-yard thunderbolt".[26] He was released by Salford at the end of the 2021–22 season.[27]

International career

Willock was called up to the Montserrat squad for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification in June 2021. He debuted with Montserrat in a 4–0 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification win over the US Virgin Islands on 2 June 2021.[28]

Personal life

He has two brothers, Chris and Joe, who are also professional footballers.[5][6] All three brothers shared a pitch when Manchester United played a reserve game against Arsenal in May 2017.[29] Paul Scholes, Patrick Vieira and Kaká were his heroes growing up.[30]

Career statistics

Club
As of end of 2020–21 season.[4]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Manchester United 2016–17 Premier League 000000000000
2017–18 000000000000
2018–19 000000000000
Total 000000000000
FC Utrecht (loan) 2017–18 Eredivisie 3021——0051
Jong FC Utrecht (loan) 2017–18 Eerste Divisie 60———0060
St Johnstone (loan) 2017–18 Premiership 11110——00121
St Mirren (loan) 2018–19 12000200000140
Crawley Town (loan) 2018–19 League Two 110————110
Gillingham 2019–20 League One 701000——80
2020–21 League One 1100030–4[lower-alpha 1]0180
Total 18010300040260
Career total 61141500040742
  1. Appearances in the EFL Trophy

International
As of match played 8 June 2021[31]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Montserrat
202120
Total20

References
  1. "Notification of shirt numbers: Gillingham" (PDF). English Football League. p. 31. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  2. "Matthew Willock". 11v11. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  3. "Matty Willock". World Football. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  4. "Matthew Willock profile". Soccerway. 16 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  5. "Who is Matthew Willock? Manchester United player profile". Manchester Evening News. 21 May 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  6. "Matty Willock profile". Manchester United F.C. 16 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  7. "Manchester United starlet Willock: Utrecht experience gives me a chance". ESPN. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  8. "Man Utd retained list for new 2019/20 season includes 15 released players". Manchester United. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  9. "Willock joins FC Utrecht on loan". Manchester United F.C. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  10. "FC Utrecht verwelkomt Matty Willock". FC Utrecht. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
  11. "Half dozijn doelpunten in Arena". FC Utrecht. 20 September 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  12. "Willock returns to United from FC Utrecht". Manchester United F.C. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  13. "Willock swaps Utrecht for St Johnstone". Manchester United. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  14. "Saints secure Matty Willock on loan from Manchester United". St Johnstone F.C. 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  15. "Matty Willock: Man Utd midfielder joins St Mirren on season-long loan". BBC Sport. 27 July 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  16. "Matty Willock returns to Manchester United". St Mirren FC. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  17. "Matty Willock: Manchester United midfielder joins Crawley Town on loan". BBC Sport. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  18. "Gaby thanks loan players for their efforts". Crawley Town. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  19. "Matty Willock signs for Gills on two-year deal". Gillingham F.C. 13 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  20. "Report - Faversham Town 1-9 Gillingham". Gillingham. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  21. "Former Manchester United player Matty Willock looks up to players such as Michael Carrick". Kent Online. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  22. "Gillingham could hand debut to Willock". Evening Express. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  23. "Retained list confirmed". www.gillinghamfootballclub.com. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  24. Mail, Harry (25 July 2021). "Salford City cast eye over Matty Willock after Gillingham release". The 72. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  25. Ray, James (4 August 2021). "Salford City seal bargain swoop for Matty Willock after Gillingham release". The 72. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  26. "Salford 1-1 Leyton Orient: Matty Willock stunner earns point for City". Sky Sports. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  27. "Player news". Salford City FC. 21 May 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  28. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Qualifiers - North, Central America and Caribbean - Matches - Montserrat - US Virgin Islands - FIFA.com". www.fifa.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021.
  29. "What Manchester United player Paul Pogba said to loan star Matty Willock when he took squad number". Manchester Evening News. 16 October 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  30. "'Wonderboy' Matty Willock voelt zich thuis bij FC Utrecht". AD. 19 September 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  31. "Matty Willock". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
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