Sami Tlemcani (Arabic: سامي التلمساني; born 21 July 2004) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Greek Super League 2 club AEK Athens B. Born in France, he represented Morocco at youth international level before committing to represent Algeria in February 2023.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 21 July 2004 | ||
| Place of birth | Saint-Maurice, France[1] | ||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | AEK Athens B | ||
| Number | 94 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Créteil-Lusitanos | |||
| 2018–2020 | Paris FC | ||
| 2020–2022 | Chelsea | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022–2023 | Chelsea | 0 | (0) |
| 2022 | → Merstham (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2023– | AEK Athens B | 0 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2022 | Morocco U20 | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:00, 24 December 2022 (UTC) | |||
Club career
editEarly life
editBorn in Saint-Maurice, Val-de-Marne, France to an Algerian father and Moroccan mother, Tlemcani played for Créteil-Lusitanos before joining Paris FC.[2] He spent two years with Paris FC, training with the first team at only 15 years old.[3]
Chelsea
editIn October 2020, he joined English Premier League side Chelsea.[3][4]
In February 2022, Tlemcani was loaned to Isthmian League side Merstham on a short-term deal.[5][6] He went on to make five appearances in the league.[7]
He extended his deal with Chelsea in August 2022, signing until 2025.[8] On 1 July 2023, Tlemcani departed Chelsea by mutual consent.[9]
AEK Athens
editOn 27 July 2023, Tlemcani joined Greek Super League 2 club AEK Athens B.[10]
International career
editTlemcani is eligible to represent France through birth, and both Algeria and Morocco through his parents. He was called up to the French under-16 team in November 2019.[11]
Ahead of the 2021 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in host country Morocco, Tlemcani pledged his international future to Morocco, stating on his Instagram page that he had decided to represent them instead of Algeria.[12] This choice was strengthened further when, in September 2021, he received a surprise call up to the Morocco senior set up ahead of 2022 World Cup qualification games.[13][14][15]
Despite Tlemcani initially expressing his pride at representing Morocco, his father said in an interview in September 2022 that he had a desire to represent Algeria at international level, but had yet to hear from the Algerian Football Federation.[16][17] He has since gone on to represent Morocco at under-20 level.[18]
In February 2023, Tlemcani chose to represent Algeria.[19]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of 9 December 2022.[7]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Chelsea | 2021–22 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022–23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Merstham (loan) | 2021–22 | Isthmian League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Career total | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ||
- Notes
References
edit- ^ a b "Sami Tlemcani". chelseafc.com. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ Pruneta, Laurent (6 October 2020). "Un jeune gardien du Paris FC file à Chelsea" [A young goalkeeper from Paris FC goes to Chelsea]. laparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ a b "OFFICIAL - SAMI TLEMCANI JOINS CHELSEA FROM PARIS FC". getfootballnewsfrance.com. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ "Chelsea sign 16-year-old goalkeeper Tlemcani from Paris". en.as.com. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ "Academy attacker returns; two keepers go out on loan". chelseafc.com. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ "سامي تلمساني.. من تشيلسي إلى ميرستهام" [Sami Tlemcani.. from Chelsea to Merstham]. almountakhab.com (in Arabic). 3 February 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ a b "Statistics". footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ "كرة القدم : الحارس المغربي سامي التلمساني يمدد عقده مع فريق تشيلسي " [Football: Moroccan goalkeeper Sami Tlemcani extends his contract with Chelsea.]. ljarida.com (in Arabic). 2 August 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ "Summer transfers 2023: All the Chelsea ins, outs and new contracts so far". www.chelseafc.com. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "Στην ΑΕΚ Β ο Σαμί Τλεμκανί < ΑΝΑΚΟΙΝΩΣΕΙΣ". AEK F.C. Official Web Site (in Greek). Retrieved 1 August 2023.
- ^ Briand, Kévin (25 November 2019). "Sami Tlemcani en Equipe de France" [Sami Tlemcani in the France National Team]. parisfc.fr (in French). Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ Attisso, John (3 March 2021). "SAMI TLEMCANI : LE PORTIER DE CHELSEA A FAIT SON CHOIX ENTRE L'ALGÉRIE ET LE MAROC" [SAMI TLEMCANI: THE CHELSEA GOALKEEPER HAS MADE HIS CHOICE BETWEEN ALGERIA AND MOROCCO]. africatopsports.com (in French). Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ "شاهد.. مهارات سامي تلمساني مفاجأة حاليلوزيتش بقائمة المغرب" [Watch.. Sami Tlemcani's skills surprise Halilhodzic in Morocco's list]. winwin.com (in Arabic). 30 September 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ "رفض الجزائر ووقع مؤخراً مع تشيلسي.. من يكون سامي تلمساني؟" [Algeria refused and recently signed with Chelsea.. Who is Sami Tlemcani?]. mfmsport.ma (in Arabic). 30 September 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ "غضب جزائري بعد اختيار "سامي تلمساني" حارس تشيلسي المنتخب المغربي على حساب المنتخب الجزائري" [Algerian anger after choosing “Sami Tlemcen”, the Chelsea goalkeeper, the Moroccan national team, at the expense of the Algerian national team]. assafir24.ma (in Arabic). 1 October 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ "التلمساني يتحدث عن اختياره اللعب مع الأسود" [Tlemcani talks about his choice to play with the Lions]. snrtnews.com (in Arabic). 5 October 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ "والد-حارس-تشيلسي إبني-يريد-تمثيل الخضر" [The father of the Chelsea goalkeeper .. My son wants to represent the Greens, but he did not receive any call]. khedmanews.com (in Arabic). 21 September 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ Sami Tlemcani at WorldFootball.net
- ^ "Chelsea goalkeeper Sami Tlemcani chooses Algeria over Morocco". Algeria FC. 27 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
External links
edit- Sami Tlemcani at Soccerway