Jayson Patrick Molumby (born 6 August 1999) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion and the Republic of Ireland national team.
Molumby started his career playing youth football with Railway Athletic and then Villa F.C. before signing for the academy of Brighton & Hove Albion where he later made his senior professional debut. He went on to make five appearances for the Sussex club where he also made Premier League debut. During his time at Brighton he had three loan spells, all to Championship sides in Millwall, where he scored his first professional goal, Preston North End and West Bromwich Albion where he went on to sign a permanent deal with The Baggies in May 2022.
He made his senior Republic of Ireland debut in September 2020 at the age of 21 after progressing through the youth ranks.
Early life
Molumby was born in Cappoquin in County Waterford. He started his career at Railway Athletic before playing for a short period at Villa FC. He returned to Railway where they developed him from a very young age. He spent a season at Railway Athletic before joining Brighton in 2015.
Club career
Brighton & Hove Albion
Development side
Molumby became a key part of the Brighton youth teams, playing for both the under-23s and the under-18s. He played in the EFL Trophy in 2016–17 season, including the last-16 match against Coventry City which saw Brighton knocked out. He also played in the semi-final of the Sussex Senior Challenge Cup.
2017–18
Molumby made his debut for the Seagulls first team on 22 August in an EFL Cup second round match against Barnet, starting the move that led to the only goal of the game. He made his second appearance for the senior side in the next round of the EFL Cup, playing 120 minutes against Bournemouth alongside fellow Irishman Dessie Hutchinson in the eventual away loss.
Millwall (loan) On 23 July 2019, Molumby joined Millwall on loan for the duration of the 2019–20 season. On 13 August Molumby made his Millwall debut in the first round of the EFL Cup where he started in the 2–1 away win over West Brom. Eight days later, Molumby made his career league debut coming on as a sub in a 4–0 away defeat to Fulham in the Championship. After impressing with Millwall, Molumby signed a new three-and-half year contract with Brighton in early March 2020. Molumby scored his first career goal on 18 July scoring the last of the seven goal thriller away at QPR where Millwall lost 4–3 ending The Lions play-off hopes.
Back to Brighton
On 17 September 2020, Molumby made his first appearance for Brighton in over three years playing the whole match in a 4–0 home victory over Portsmouth in the EFL Cup match. He featured in a Premier League match day squad for the first time on 26 September where he remained an unused substitute in the 3–2 home loss against Manchester United. Four days later Brighton faced United again this time in the EFL Cup where Molumby started and played 81 minutes of the 3–0 home defeat falling short of a quarter final place.
Molumby made his Premier League debut on 21 November, coming on as 90+5th-minute substitute helping the Seagulls hold on to their lead over Aston Villa where it finished 2–1 away from home.
Preston (loan)
On 5 January 2021, Molumby joined Championship side Preston North End on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut four days later, starting and playing 75 minutes of the eventual 4–1 third round FA Cup defeat away at Wycombe. A week later he made his league debut for The Lilywhites coming on as a 79th-minute substitute in a 2–0 away loss against Bristol City. On his third appearance he assisted a Scott Sinclair goal in a 1–0 away win over Birmingham City on 20 January.