Jai Quitongo (born 14 September 1997) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Greenock Morton.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1997-09-14) 14 September 1997 (age 25) | ||
| Place of birth | Wishaw, Scotland | ||
| Position(s) | Striker, Winger | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Greenock Morton | ||
| Number | 10 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 0000–2014 | Hamilton Academical | ||
| 2014–2015 | Aberdeen | ||
| 2015 | Greenock Morton | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2018 | Greenock Morton | 35 | (12) |
| 2018 | Partick Thistle | 13 | (1) |
| 2019 | Machine Sazi | 8 | (1) |
| 2020 | Dumbarton | 6 | (1) |
| 2020–2022 | Queen's Park | 29 | (3) |
| 2022– | Greenock Morton | 8 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2016 | Scotland U21 | 1 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 June 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 4 March 2019 | |||
He has previously played for Greenock Morton, Partick Thistle, Machine Sazi and Dumbarton. Throughout his youth career, Quitongo played for Hamilton Academical and Aberdeen.
Quitongo is a one-time capped Scotland U21 internationalist.
Quitongo's father is ex-Hamilton Academical, Heart of Midlothian and St Mirren winger José Quitongo. His brother, Rico, plays as a left back for Scottish League One club Queen of the South.
After playing for the youth sides at Hamilton Academical and Aberdeen, Quitongo signed for Greenock Morton on a short-term deal in August 2015.[1] He was offered an 18-month extension in December 2015[2] and made his debut for the first team as a late substitute against Raith Rovers.[3]
In December 2015, Quitongo signed a contract extension, making him contracted to the club until May 2017.[4] His first goal for the club came against Kilmarnock in the League Cup and followed up with a winning strike against Hamilton Academical.[5]
On 31 August 2016, Morton rejected a bid from Doncaster Rovers for Quitongo's services.[6] Quitongo underwent knee surgery in January 2017.[7] While recovering from the injury, he signed a new contract with Morton that ran until June 2018.[7][8] He was offered a new one-year deal but this was rescinded in August 2018 and he was released from the club.[9]
After agreeing compensation, due to his age, Quitongo joined Partick Thistle on a short-term deal until January 2019.[10] Jai scored his first goal for the Jags in a 2-1 home defeat against Dundee United.[11]
After leaving Thistle, in March 2019, Quitongo moved to Iranian side Machine Sazi on a four-year deal.[12]
He left Machine after just eight appearances and joined Scottish League One club Dumbarton on a short-term deal in January 2020, teaming up with his younger brother Rico and former manager at Greenock Morton Jim Duffy.[13] He scored his first goal for the club against Forfar Athletic in March 2020.[14] He left the club in July 2020 after six appearances and one goal.[15]
Quitongo signed for League Two club Queen's Park in October 2020.[16]
On 31 October 2016, Quitongo was selected by coach Scot Gemmill for the Scotland under-21 squad.[17][18] He debuted as a substitute in a friendly defeat away to Slovakia.[19]
| Club | Season | League | Scottish Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Greenock Morton | 2015–16[20] | Championship | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 2016–17[21] | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 23 | 6 | ||
| 2017–18[22] | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 20 | 4 | ||
| Greenock Morton total | 35 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 10 | ||
| Partick Thistle | 2018–19 | Championship | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 |
| Dumbarton | 2019–20 | League One | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Career total | 54 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 69 | 12 | ||
Morton
Greenock Morton F.C. – current squad | |
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