 Grimes withSwansea City in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Matthew Jacob Grimes[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1995-07-15)15 July 1995 (age 30) | ||
| Place of birth | Exeter, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.81 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Coventry City | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2013 | Exeter City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2015 | Exeter City | 58 | (5) |
| 2015–2025 | Swansea City | 305 | (10) |
| 2016 | →Blackburn Rovers (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | →Leeds United (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | →Northampton Town (loan) | 45 | (4) |
| 2025– | Coventry City | 47 | (2) |
| International career | |||
| 2014–2015 | England U20 | 12 | (1) |
| 2016 | England U21 | 4 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16:27, 9 December 2025 (UTC) | |||
Matthew Jacob Grimes (born 15 July 1995) is an English professionalfootballer who plays as amidfielder forEFL Championship clubCoventry City.
He began his career atExeter City, where he made his professional debut inLeague Two in August 2013. In January 2015, he was signed byPremier League club Swansea for an undisclosed fee believed to be around £1.75 million. Grimes has also represented England atunder-20 andunder-21 level.
Born inExeter, Devon, Grimes came through his hometown clubExeter City's academy and was given a professional contract by the club in April 2013.[3] He made hisLeague Two debut on 17 August 2013 in a 2–0 victory overAFC Wimbledon atSt James Park.[4] In February 2014, Exeter City managerPaul Tisdale described Grimes as the best young player he had seen in his 8 years at the club praising his technical ability and reading of the game.[5] On 18 April, away atChesterfield'sProact Stadium, he scored his first professional goal for relegation-threatened Exeter, a deflected free kick in the 18th minute to open a 1–1 draw against the highly ranked opponents.[6] Grimes won Exeter's player of the season award at the end of the 2013–14 season and that summer committed his immediate future to the club despite reported interest from variousPremier League sides.[7]
Despite leaving the division halfway through the season when he signed for Swansea, Grimes was chosen in League Two'sPFA Team of the Year for the2014–15 season.[8]
On 2 January 2015, Grimes signed forPremier League sideSwansea City with Exeter City receiving an undisclosed club record fee, believed to be in the region of £1.75 million.[9] He completed 90 minutes for the Swansea under-21 side in a 2–1 win againstQueens Park Rangers on 27 January. On 1 February, Grimes was called up a Swansea matchday squad for the first time, remaining an unused substitute as they won 1–0 away toSouthampton.[10] His debut for the team came on 4 April, as a 90th-minute substitute forJonjo Shelvey in a 3–1 win overHull City at theLiberty Stadium.[11] He scored his first goal for the club againstYork City in a 3–0 home win in theLeague Cup second round on 25 August 2015.[12]
On 13 February 2016, Grimes joinedChampionship clubBlackburn Rovers on a loan deal lasting until the end of the season,[13] making 12 appearances.
On 6 July, Grimes returned to the Championship, joiningLeeds United on a season-long loan, signed by his former Swansea managerGarry Monk and assistantPep Clotet.[14][15] On 5 August, Grimes was given the squad number 16 shirt for the 2016–17 season.[16] On 7 August, Grimes made his Leeds debut againstQPR in a 3–0 defeat.[17] His last appearance for Leeds, was againstSutton United on 29 January 2017 in theFA Cup in Leeds' shock cup exit.[18]
On 17 May 2017, after failing to break into the Leeds team, it was announced that Grimes would be returning to Swansea upon the expiry of his loan deal.[19] After the spell Grimes described his time at the club, "I took a bit of a knocking going to Leeds, it just didn't happen for me."[20]
On 18 August 2017, it was confirmed that Grimes would be playing football forNorthampton Town for the rest of the season.[21] He made 47 appearances in all competitions scoring 4 goals during his season at Northampton, after being unable to help them avoid relegation fromEFL League One.[22]
Grimes was recalled to play for Swansea following the club's relegation from thePremier League. He scored his first goal of the season in a 3–2 loss againstManchester City in theFA Cup.[23] Before the start of the 2019–20 season, Grimes was named club captain, replacing the departingLeroy Fer.[24] Grimes went on to make his 200th appearance across all competitions for Swansea City on 15 April 2022 in a 1–1 draw with Barnsley. On 27 April 2024, he made his 300th appearance for the club and scored the tying goal on a penalty kick in a 2–2 draw withNorwich City.[25]
On 31 January 2025, Grimes signed for Championship sideCoventry City on a three-and-a-half year deal for an undisclosed fee, reported to be between £3.5 million and £4 million, the fee broken down into installments paid over 40 months.[26][27] On 14 April, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 away draw against Hull City.[28] Later that year, on 11 September, he was named as club captain following the departure ofBen Sheaf.[29]
On 28 August 2014, Grimes received his first call-up to theEngland national under-20 team for the friendly match againstRomania.[30] In March 2015, Grimes came off the bench to captain the Under 20s in a win against Mexico. He also scored a penalty in the eventual shoot-out following a 1–1 draw. 4 days later, he started as captain at Home Park in 2–1 win over the United States, wearing the number 7 shirt.
In February 2025, theFootball Association of Wales expressed an interest in selecting Grimes for international duty if eligibility rules changed to allow it. Under thehome nations agreement, Grimes is currently ineligible to represent Wales as he was not born in the territory, has no parents or grandparents born in the territory, and did not have at least 5 years of education before the age of 18 in the territory. Under the FAW's proposals, a player would become eligible to represent a home nation if he is registered as a player for at least 5 years with a club within the relevant territory. The proposal would need the support ofThe Football Association,Scottish Football Association andIrish Football Association to pass.[31]
As a 15-year-old he was part of St Peter's AirBadgersUltimate Frisbee team that won the Junior National Championships for the third year in a row in 2011. He was voted the most valuable player as AirBadgers beat Brighton in the final 13–1.[32]
Matt has a younger brother - Nick, who is asemi-professional footballer, playing as adefender. Nick Grimes is currently thecaptain forSouthern Football League sideTaunton Town.[33]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Exeter City | 2013–14[35] | League Two | 35 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 37 | 1 |
| 2014–15[36] | League Two | 23 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 25 | 4 | ||
| Total | 58 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 62 | 5 | ||
| Swansea City | 2014–15[36] | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
| 2015–16[37] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 4 | 1 | ||
| 2016–17[38] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18[22] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19[39] | Championship | 45 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 50 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20[40] | Championship | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 49 | 0 | |
| 2020–21[41] | Championship | 45 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3[b] | 1 | 51 | 5 | |
| 2021–22[42] | Championship | 46 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 48 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23[43] | Championship | 44 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 46 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24[44] | Championship | 46 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 50 | 5 | ||
| 2024–25[45] | Championship | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 32 | 2 | ||
| Total | 305 | 10 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 333 | 16 | ||
| Blackburn Rovers (loan) | 2015–16[37] | Championship | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| Leeds United (loan) | 2016–17[38] | Championship | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |
| Northampton Town (loan) | 2017–18[22] | League One | 44 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | 47 | 4 |
| Coventry City | 2024–25[45] | Championship | 16 | 2 | — | — | 2[b] | 0 | 18 | 2 | ||
| 2025–26 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 33 | 0 | |||
| Total | 47 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 51 | 2 | ||
| Career totals | 474 | 21 | 17 | 3 | 16 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 517 | 27 | ||
England U21
Individual
