Matthew James Godden (born 29 July 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Charlton Athletic.

[5] Still waiting for his first-team Scunthorpe debut, Godden was loaned to Brigg Town of the Northern Premier League Division One South on a three-month deal, for the opening months of the 2009–10 campaign.

[6] He scored nine goals in 20 games during the loan spell,[6] noting how important gaining experience regarding "the more physical side of football" was in terms of his development.

[5][16] In March 2012, having not played any football for over a year, Godden joined Conference North club Gainsborough Trinity on a one-month loan agreement.

[18] Godden made eight appearances during the loan spell,[19] scoring twice, his other goal coming as Gainsborough secured a 2–0 win over Eastwood Town on 24 March 2012.

[23] After recovering from the injury, Godden was subsequently loaned out to Conference Premier club Ebbsfleet United on a one-month deal on 8 November 2012.

[25] After the match, Godden stated his desire to play first-team football as being the reason behind his loan move, also hoping that a good run of form would impress the new management team in place at Scunthorpe.

[3] Godden scored in his following two league matches for Ebbsfleet at the start of December 2012, in home games against Grimsby Town and Cambridge United respectively.

[33] Following a brief return to the first-team set-up at Scunthorpe with two substitute appearances in December 2013,[33] Godden was loaned out once more on 20 February, signing for Tamworth, also of the Conference Premier, for the remainder of the season.

[38] Godden made his debut for Tamworth two days later, scoring a late equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Welling United at The Lamb Ground.

[40] He subsequently signed a two-year contract with Conference South club Ebbsfleet United on 30 May 2014, who he had previously been on loan at on two occasions.

[41] This ended when he scored a hat-trick, playing as a striker, in a 3–0 victory against Farnborough at Stonebridge Road in November 2014, in-turn giving Ebbsfleet their first home win in four matches.

The main aim was to bounce back and make a name for myself in the Football League and I thank Darren Sarll and Stevenage for this opportunity.

"[52] He made his Stevenage debut on the opening day of the 2016–17 season, playing the whole match in a 2–1 defeat against Crewe Alexandra at Broadhall Way.

[62] He scored his first goal of the campaign in his sixth league appearance of the season, a 2–1 home defeat to Lincoln City on 9 September 2017.

[66] After Stevenage stated they were "open to offers" for the player,[67] Godden signed for League One club Peterborough United on 4 June 2018.

[73] Godden joined League One club Coventry City on a three-year contract on 6 August 2019,[74] for a fee of £750,000 payable over three years.

[75] He finished the 2019–20 season as the team's top scorer with 14 goals, helping them to become League One Champions and achieve promotion to The Championship.

[79] On 3 July 2024, Godden joined Charlton Athletic on a two-year deal with a club option of a further year for an undisclosed fee.

[82] Godden has spent the majority of his career playing as a striker, although was briefly deployed as a winger at the start of the 2014–15 season when at Ebbsfleet United.