Where is Matty Cash from? Poland call up for Aston Villa footballer and nationality explained

Aston Villa defender Matty Cash has been called up for international duty by Poland and pictured training with his teammates.

The 24-year-old has made 38 Premier League appearances for Villa since joining from Nottingham Forest in September 2020.

Cash has received a growing number of admirers this season for his displays and took to Twitter to express his joy at his first international call up.

He wrote: “This is a special day for me and my family. Our dreams have come true. It is a great honour for me to be given this opportunity. I look forward to meeting my teammates and playing for my country.”

Here is all the information on Poland’s latest international recruit.

Where is Matty Cash from?

Cash was born in Slough to an English father and Polish mother. His maternal grandparents were both born in Poland and he has said that he still has extended family living there.

Following talks between Andrzej Duda, the Polish President, and the President of the Polish Football Association, Cezary Kulesza, Cash was confirmed as a Polish citizen on Tuesday 26 October 2021. The application for his citizenship was signed at the Masovian Voivodeship government building in Warsaw.

The Polish national team manager Paulo Sousa then confirmed Cash would join the rest of the international squad on Monday 1 November ahead of Poland’s next fixtures in the World Cup qualifying matches.

Who does Matty Cash play for?

The full-back started his youth career with Wycombe Wanderers in 2010 before joining the FAB Academy based in Bisham Abbey in 2013 due to financial difficulties at Wycombe.

Cash then signed up with Nottingham Forest’s youth squad in 2014 and stayed with them, transferring to the senior squad in 2016, until 2020.

His first experience in professional games came during a one month loan spell at the League Two club, Dagenham and Redbridge.

His first goal in professional football came just eight days after signing the loan deal during a match against Hartlepool United that resulted in a 3-1 win for the Daggers.

On 5 August 2016, Cash then signed a three-year deal with Forest. Between 2016 and 2020, Cash made 129 appearances for his club, scoring 11 times.

Matty Cash was previously linked with a transfer to Chelsea in 2016, although the Forest owner soon spoke out denying any claims suggesting the full-back would be sold in the January transfer window.

Not long after, Cash was then the subject of a bid from RB Leipzig but Cash remained at Forest and signed a new contract with his team that should have extended his stay in Nottingham until 2021.

In January 2020, clubs such as Milan, Everton and West Ham were all interested in signing the British-Polish winger, however he announced he had no interest to leave his Championship side until the end of the season as he hoped to secure a promotion to the Premier League.

Matty Cash announced on 3 September 2020 that he would be moving to Aston Villa on a five year contract for a reported £14million with the possibility that this would rise to £16million.

Cash scored his first goal for Villa just over a year later during a 3-0 Premier League victory over Everton.

When is Matty Cash likely to play for Poland?

Poland’s next international match is against Andorra on Friday 12 November 2021 in Andorra. They will then host Hungary on Monday 15 November 2021. Both matches are part of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying stages. Both matches will kick off at 7.45pm BST.

Poland are currently second in Group I, sitting behind England. Poland have won five out of their eight matches, drawing two and losing one and are likely to go through to the second round of qualifying while England look set to automatically qualify for the World Cup hainv won six out of their eight matches and drawing the other two.

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