| Jake Gray | |
| Fullname: | Jake Stephen Gray |
| Birth Date: | 25 December 1995 |
| Birth Place: | Aylesbury, England |
| Height: | [1] |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Currentclub: | Hampton & Richmond Borough |
| Clubnumber: | 10 |
| Youthyears1: | –2012 |
| Youthclubs1: | Wycombe Wanderers |
| Youthyears2: | 2012–2013 |
| Youthclubs2: | Crystal Palace |
| Years1: | 2013–2016 |
| Clubs1: | Crystal Palace |
| Caps1: | 0 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2015 |
| Clubs2: | → Cheltenham Town (loan) |
| Caps2: | 4 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2015–2016 |
| Clubs3: | → Hartlepool United (loan) |
| Caps3: | 29 |
| Goals3: | 5 |
| Years4: | 2016–2017 |
| Clubs4: | Luton Town |
| Caps4: | 19 |
| Goals4: | 1 |
| Years5: | 2017–2019 |
| Clubs5: | Yeovil Town |
| Caps5: | 56 |
| Goals5: | 5 |
| Years6: | 2019–2020 |
| Clubs6: | Woking |
| Caps6: | 5 |
| Goals6: | 0 |
| Years7: | 2019 |
| Clubs7: | → Hampton & Richmond Borough (loan) |
| Caps7: | 7 |
| Goals7: | 2 |
| Years8: | 2020 |
| Clubs8: | → Hampton & Richmond Borough (loan) |
| Caps8: | 9 |
| Goals8: | 2 |
| Years9: | 2020– |
| Caps9: | 113 |
| Goals9: | 14 |
| Club-Update: | 15:19, 14 January 2024 (UTC) |
Jake Stephen Gray (born 25 December 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Hampton & Richmond Borough of the .
Gray was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire and attended Grange School.[2] [3] He began his career at Wycombe Wanderers before joining Crystal Palace when he was fifteen, after Wycombe Wanderers closed their academy at the start of 2012–13.[4] He progressed through the youth system and development squads,[4] before signing his first professional contract, effective from 1 January 2013 until the end of 2014–15.[5] Gray made his professional debut as a 62nd-minute substitute for Dwight Gayle in a 3–0 win away to Walsall in the League Cup second round on 26 August 2014.[4] [6] He also featured in the third round as a 90th-minute substitute for Paddy McCarthy which resulted in a 3–2 defeat to Newcastle United after extra time.[7] Following the expiry of his previous contract, Gray signed a new two-year contract with the club on 2 July 2015.[8]
On 16 January 2015, Gray joined League Two club Cheltenham Town on a one-month loan.[9] He made both his Football League and Cheltenham debut in a 1–1 draw with Luton Town on 24 January.[10] Gray made three further appearances before returning to Crystal Palace, despite being keen on an extension.[11] [12]
On 5 November 2015, Gray joined League Two club Hartlepool United on a one-month youth loan.[13] Two days later, he made his Hartlepool debut in a 1–0 win over former loan club Cheltenham Town in the FA Cup first round.[14] Gray followed up with a brace, his first professional goals in a 3–1 win at home to Leyton Orient eight days later.[15] [16] After making three appearances for Hartlepool, Gray's loan was extended until 2 January 2016.[17] On 5 January, his loan spell at Hartlepool was extended until the end of the season, by now having made eight appearances for the club.[18] Gray's next appearance saw him score the opening goal with a volley during a 2–1 defeat at home to Derby County in the FA Cup third round, before his opponents came from behind to win the match.[19] Gray went on to complete his loan spell, making 33 appearances and scoring six goals for the club in 2015–16.
On 1 August 2016, Gray signed a two-year contract with League Two club Luton Town on a free transfer.[20] Under the terms of the transfer, Crystal Palace would be due a contingency sum in any event of a future sale.[20] He made his Luton debut as a substitute on the opening day of 2016–17 in a 3–0 win away to Plymouth Argyle. Gray scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win at home to newly relegated Championship club Aston Villa in the EFL Cup first round on 10 August.[21] After the end of the season, Gray was transfer-listed by Luton,[22] having made 28 appearances and scored four goals in 2016–17.
On 26 June 2017, Gray signed for fellow League Two club Yeovil Town on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee.[23] At the end of the 2018–19 season, Gray was released by Yeovil following the club's relegation from the English Football League.[24]
Gray signed for National League club Woking on 25 August 2019.[25] In September 2019, he joined Hampton & Richmond Borough of the National League South on a one-month loan.[26] While on loan, this was extended for a further month. Gray returned to Woking in November but was unable to hold a regular starting place in the team. On the 10 January it was announced that he would be returning to Hampton & Richmond for a further five weeks.[27]
On 2 August 2020, it was announced that Gray would return to Hampton & Richmond Borough on a permanent basis ahead of the 2020–21 campaign.[28] He was awarded the National League South Player of the Month award for March 2023.[29]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Crystal Palace | 2014–15 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Cheltenham Town (loan) | 2014–15 | League Two | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
| Hartlepool United (loan) | 2015–16 | League Two | 29 | 5 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 33 | 6 | |||
| Luton Town | 2016–17 | League Two | 19 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 28 | 4 | |
| Yeovil Town | 2017–18 | League Two | 26 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 37 | 4 | |
| 2018–19 | League Two | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 2 | ||
| Total | 56 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 71 | 6 | |||
| Woking | 2019–20 | National League | 5 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||
| Hampton & Richmond Borough | 2019–20[30] [31] | National League South | 16 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 19 | 4 | ||
| 2020–21[32] | National League South | 17 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 22 | 2 | |||
| 2021–22[33] | National League South | 27 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 31 | 4 | |||
| 2022–23[34] | National League South | 46 | 5 | 4 | 1 | — | 1 | 0 | 51 | 6 | |||
| 2023–24[35] | National League South | 23 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 28 | 3 | |||
| Total | 129 | 18 | 15 | 1 | — | 7 | 0 | 151 | 19 | ||||
| Career total | 242 | 29 | 25 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 22 | 2 | 294 | 35 | |||