Huddersfield Town

Chelsea midfielder Matos joined Town on loan for the remainder of the 2023/24 Sky Bet Championship season in January 2024!

Alex’s rise from promising academy talent with Norwich City to Premier League footballer with Chelsea’s first team has been a rapid one, underlining his obvious talent and potential.

Born on 3 October 2004 in Bedford, the midfielder’s first footsteps in the game were made with local side Kempston Colts before he quickly emerged on the radar of scouts from Luton Town, joining the Hatters at U9 level.

With his elder brother Jeyda already signed with Norwich City’s academy, that was Alex’s next step in 2016 despite early interest from Chelsea, against whom he had made his first appearance for Luton in academy football. Working his way through the young ranks with the Canaries over the next seven years - which included time with England’s U15 side - he wasn’t a talent that the West London side forgot in a hurry.

Despite not yet having made a senior appearance for Norwich after signing his first professional contract with the club at U18 level in 2022, his move to Cobham finally became a reality in the summer of 2023, putting paper to a three-year deal that includes an option for one further. Initially joining up with their U21 side at age 18, it wasn’t long before his performances in training caught the eye of Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino.

Before signing for Town, he was named on the bench for his parent side in nine consecutive Premier League games, with Chelsea supporters joining the coaches at their club in being excited to see more of the teenager who made his professional debut earlier this season, and has now appeared in both the Premier League and EFL Cup for Pochettino’s men.

Following in the footsteps of Kasey Palmer, Izzy Brown, Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill and Tino Anjorin in swapping Cobham for the Millers Oils High Performance Complex, Matos comes readily equipped to contribute to the Terriers at First Team level immediately, just as his fellow Chelsea academy graduates have done previously.

A central midfielder who is capable of playing in advanced areas, as a box-to-box option or holding midfield, it’s widely acknowledged that his long-term future lies as a number six, using his wonderful range of passing and understanding of the game to not only stifle the opposition with his energy, but help create and launch attacks from deeper areas of the field.