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Matty Cash

Cash in 2023
Personal information
Full name	Matthew Stuart Cash
Date of birth	(1997-08-07) 7 August 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth	Slough, Berkshire, England
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s)	Right-back
Team information
Current team	Aston Villa
Number	2
Youth career
2010–2012	Wycombe Wanderers
2013–2014	FAB Academy
2014–2016	Nottingham Forest
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2020	Nottingham Forest	129	(11)
2016	→ Dagenham & Redbridge (loan)	12	(3)
2020–	Aston Villa	130	(7)
International career
2021–	Poland	15	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 December 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21 March 2024 (UTC)

Matthew Stuart Cash (born 7 August 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Premier League club Aston Villa and the Poland national team.

Cash started his career at Wycombe Wanderers and later the FAB Academy before he signed his first professional contract with Nottingham Forest and then established himself as a regular at right back. He signed for Aston Villa in September 2020.

Born in England, Cash has Polish grandparents on his mother's side. He was confirmed a Polish citizen in October 2021, qualifying him to play for the Poland national team. He made his debut the following month, and represented the side at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Aston Villa

Cash signed with Nottingham Forest in October 2014, after spending 16-months with the FAB Football Academy based at Bisham Abbey. Cash had joined FAB after Wycombe Wanderers released him, due to financial problems forcing their youth teams to be disbanded, aged fourteen. He experienced his first games in professional football on loan at League Two club Dagenham & Redbridge, having joined them on 4 March 2016 on a one-month loan deal. He scored his first goal for the Daggers in a 3–1 defeat to Hartlepool United on 12 March 2016.

On 5 August 2016, Cash signed a three-year deal with Forest to keep him at the club until 2019. He made his first team debut a day later, starting in a 4–3 win over Burton Albion. Cash's early season form earned him praise, with former Forest defender Kenny Burns claiming that the midfielder's performances were putting those of some of the more experienced Forest players "to shame". However, on only his fifth appearance for Forest, Cash sustained a fracture to his tibia at the beginning of a 2–2 draw away to Aston Villa on 11 September 2016 which was expected to keep him out for three months.

Cash made his return from injury on 25 November as a 79th-minute substitute in a 5–2 defeat of Barnsley at Oakwell. Three days later Cash was linked with a £5 million transfer to Premier League side Chelsea, although Forest owner Fawaz Al-Hasawi subsequently took to social media to deny that the midfielder would be sold in the January transfer window. On 4 January 2017, Cash was the subject of a £6 million bid from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig. Having remained at Forest upon the closure of the January transfer window, Cash signed a new contract on 3 March 2017 to extend his current deal with the club until 2021.

Having changed squad number from 41 to 14, ankle ligament damage sustained during a pre-season friendly match with Girona deprived Cash of starting the first match of the 2017–18 season, with the injury reported to sideline the player for "around three months". He scored his first goal for Forest in a 5–2 win at Queens Park Rangers on 24 February 2018.

Cash scored the opening goal for Nottingham Forest in the 2019–20 season, in a 2–1 defeat against West Bromwich Albion. During the season, Forest manager Sabri Lamouchi began to utilise Cash as a right back, after injuries to Tendayi Darikwa and later Carl Jenkinson. He made the right-back position his own, and his impressive performances led to the Poland national team reportedly monitoring his progress ahead of a potential call-up. He signed a three-and-a-half-year contract extension with Forest in November 2019.

In January 2020, a number of clubs including Milan, Everton and West Ham were interested in signing Cash. However, Cash said that he wished to stay at Forest until the end of the season in the hope that he could help the team to secure promotion to the Premier League. He cited Aston Villa's Jack Grealish as an influence behind this decision.

Cash was named Forest's Player of the Season by the club's supporters on 12 August 2020.

Aston Villa

On 3 September 2020, Aston Villa announced the signing of Cash on a five-year contract for a reported £14 million, rising to £16 million. Cash made his debut for the club on 21 September, in a 1–0 home victory against Sheffield United.

On 18 September 2021, Cash scored his first goal for Aston Villa in a 3–0 Premier League victory over Everton. On 26 February 2022, Cash scored a long-range effort in an away victory over Brighton & Hove Albion which was nominated for Premier League Goal of the Month. He received a yellow card for his celebration of the goal, in which Cash lifted his shirt to reveal a message of support for Poland teammate Tomasz Kędziora and his family, who were in Kyiv during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Cash was voted Villa's player of the month for March 2022. On 4 April 2022, Cash signed a five-year contract extension with Aston Villa, amidst reported interest from Atlético Madrid. On 12 May 2022, at Aston Villa's End of Season awards, Cash was voted Villa's Player of the Season for the 2021–22 season.

On 27 August 2023, Cash made his 100th appearance for Aston Villa, in which he scored two goals in the first 20 minutes to help his team to a 3–1 away win at Burnley. On 6 January 2024, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Middlesbrough in the FA Cup to give his side their first win in the competition since 2016.

International careers

Cash is of Polish descent through his mother. In September 2021, Cash applied for a Polish passport. His application for confirmation of possession of Polish citizenship was signed on 26 October 2021 at the Masovian Voivodeship government building in Warsaw. On 1 November, Cash received his first call-up to the Poland national football team for their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Andorra and Hungary. He made his first appearance in a 4–1 away victory against Andorra on 12 November. On 11 June 2022, Cash scored his first international goal in a 2–2 away UEFA Nations League draw against the Netherlands.

Personal life

Cash is the son of former professional footballer Stuart Cash. His brother Adam coaches football at school-level. Cash grew up in Iver, Buckinghamshire, working in a branch of the department store Daniel prior to joining the Nottingham Forest academy. He enjoys playing snooker and has appeared on Stephen Hendry's Cue Tips YouTube channel.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 10 December 2024

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
2. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

As of match played 21 March 2024

As of match played 21 March 2024

Poland score listed first, score column indicates score after each Cash goal.

List of international goals scored by Matty Cash

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	11 June 2022	De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands	6	Netherlands	1–0	2–2	2022–23 UEFA Nations League A

Honours

Individual

• Nottingham Forest Player of the Season: 2019–20
• Aston Villa Player of the Season: 2021–22

References

1. "2020/21 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
2. "FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ – Squad List: Poland (POL)" (PDF). FIFA. 18 December 2022. p. 21. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
3. ^ "Matty Cash". 11v11.com. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
4. "West goes north after offer from the City Ground". Bucks Free Press. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
5. "Matty Cash: Nottingham Forest youngster joins Dagenham & Redbridge on loan". BBC Sport. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
6. "Cash signs new contract". Nottingham Forest F.C. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
7. "Nottingham Forest 4–3 Burton Albion". BBC Sport. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
8. "Matty Cash deserves to play more games for Nottingham Forest, says Kenny Burns". Nottingham Post. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
9. "Matty Cash out for three months but Nottingham Forest will rise to the challenge, says Philippe Montanier". Nottingham Post. 13 September 2016. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
10. "Barnsley 2–5 Forest". Nottingham Forest F.C. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
11. "Nottingham Forest 'will not sell' Matty Cash in January, says owner". 28 November 2016. Archived from the original on 29 November 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
12. "RB Leipzig offer £6m for Nottingham Forest teenager Matty Cash". Guardian Sport. 4 January 2017.
13. "Cash signs new deal". Nottingham Forest F.C. 3 March 2017.
14. "Squad numbers confirmed". Nottingham Forest F.C. 31 July 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
15. "Nottingham Forest duo Matty Cash and Jamie Ward will miss start of new season". BBC Sport. 2 August 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
16. "QPR 2–5 Nottm Forest". BBC Sport. 24 February 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
17. Law, James (3 August 2020). "Nottingham Forest 1-2 West Bromwich Albion: Matt Phillips fluke gives Baggies win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
18. "Explained: Who could replace Carl Jenkinson for Nottingham Forest's meeting with Swansea?". Vital Football. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
19. Taylor, Daniel. "New deal for Matty Cash - the future Poland international?". The Athletic. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
20. "Cash signs new deal". Nottingham Forest F.C. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
21. Leach, Tom (28 January 2020). "Everything on reported Premier League interest in Matty Cash". NottinghamshireLive. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
22. Taylor, Paul. "Cash on Grealish's loyalty to Villa, banana loaf and staying at Forest". The Athletic. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
23. "Cash wins Player of the Season award". Nottingham Forest F.C.
24. "Matty Cash: Aston Villa sign full-back from Nottingham Forest". Sky Sports. 3 September 2020.
25. "Villa announce Cash arrival". avfc.co.uk. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
26. Sanders, Emma (21 September 2020). "Aston Villa 1-0 Sheffield United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
27. "Villa put three past Everton to end unbeaten run". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
28. "Brighton 0-2 Aston Villa: Matty Cash sends Ukraine tribute after scoring in Villa win". Sky Sports. 26 February 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
29. "Matty Cash voted Villa Player of the Month". Aston Villa Football Club. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
30. "Matty Cash signs contract extension". Aston Villa Football Club. 4 April 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
31. Evans, Gregg (5 April 2022). "Aston Villa's Matty Cash signs new five-year deal". The Athletic. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
32. ^ "The Polish Cafu. 🇵🇱@MattyCash622 is your Supporters' Player of the Season for 2021/22. 👏". @AVFCOfficial on Twitter. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
33. Bower, Aaron (27 August 2023). "Matty Cash double keeps Aston Villa on a roll in victory at Burnley". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
34. "Middlesbrough 0–1 Aston Villa". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
35. "Matty Cash confirms Poland switch with Aston Villa star primed to play World Cup qualifiers next month". Independent.co.uk. 26 October 2021. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
36. Grounds, Ben (21 September 2021). "Aston Villa's Matty Cash applies for Poland passport to make international breakthrough". Mirror.
37. Preece, Ashley (26 October 2021). "Matty Cash details Leeds United chat as Aston Villa man given huge Poland breakthrough". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
38. "Matty Cash z polskim obywatelstwem! "Trzy lata temu sam się do nas zgłosił"- Reprezentacja A". PZPN - Łączy nas piłka (in Polish). Retrieved 10 August 2023.
39. "Matty Cash named in Poland squad for the first time". The Athletic. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
40. "Cash makes debut in Poland win". BBC Sport. 12 November 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
41. ^ UEFA.com. "Netherlands-Poland | UEFA Nations League 2023". UEFA.com. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
42. Taylor, Paul (6 April 2019). "Martin O'Neill on how he signed Matty Cash's dad from Forest". NottinghamshireLive.
43. ^ "Football: Youngsters get an insight into South American skills thanks to TetraBrazil". Slough Observer. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
44. Stephen Hendry's Cue Tips (9 July 2023). Matt Cash Gets The Ultimate Snooker Lesson From Stephen Hendry. Retrieved 15 May 2024 – via YouTube.
45. ^ "Games played by Matty Cash in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
46. "Games played by Matty Cash in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
47. "Games played by Matty Cash in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
48. "Games played by Matty Cash in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
49. "Games played by Matty Cash in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
50. "Games played by Matty Cash in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
51. "Games played by Matty Cash in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
52. "Games played by Matty Cash in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
53. "Games played by Matty Cash in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
54. "Games played by Matty Cash in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm.
55. ^ "Matty Cash". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
56. "Cash wins Player of the Season award". Nottingham Forest FC. 12 August 2020.

External links

• Matty Cash at Aston Villa F.C.
• Matty Cash at Premier League

v t e Poland squad – 2022 FIFA World Cup
1 Szczęsny 2 Cash 3 Jędrzejczyk 4 Wieteska 5 Bednarek 6 Bielik 7 Milik 8 D. Szymański 9 Lewandowski (c) 10 Krychowiak 11 Grosicki 12 Skorupski 13 Kamiński 14 Kiwior 15 Glik 16 Świderski 17 Żurkowski 18 Bereszyński 19 S. Szymański 20 Zieliński 21 Zalewski 22 Grabara 23 Piątek 24 Frankowski 25 Gumny 26 Skóraś Coach: Michniewicz

• 1997 births
• Living people
• Footballers from Slough
• English men's footballers
• Polish men's footballers
• English people of Polish descent
• Polish people of English descent
• Poland men's international footballers
• Men's association football fullbacks
• Nottingham Forest F.C. players
• Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. players
• Aston Villa F.C. players
• English Football League players
• Premier League players
• 2022 FIFA World Cup players
• 21st-century English sportsmen
• 21st-century Polish sportsmen