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.

Club career

Early life

Born 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

In 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

On 27 July 2023, Tlemcani joined Greek Super League 2 club AEK Athens B.[10]

International career

Tlemcani 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

Club

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

  1. ^ a b "Sami Tlemcani". chelseafc.com. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b "OFFICIAL - SAMI TLEMCANI JOINS CHELSEA FROM PARIS FC". getfootballnewsfrance.com. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Chelsea sign 16-year-old goalkeeper Tlemcani from Paris". en.as.com. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Academy attacker returns; two keepers go out on loan". chelseafc.com. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  6. ^ "سامي تلمساني.. من تشيلسي إلى ميرستهام" [Sami Tlemcani.. from Chelsea to Merstham]. almountakhab.com (in Arabic). 3 February 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Statistics". footballwebpages.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ "Summer transfers 2023: All the Chelsea ins, outs and new contracts so far". www.chelseafc.com. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Στην ΑΕΚ Β ο Σαμί Τλεμκανί < ΑΝΑΚΟΙΝΩΣΕΙΣ". AEK F.C. Official Web Site (in Greek). Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ "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.
  16. ^ "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.
  17. ^ "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.
  18. ^ Sami Tlemcani at WorldFootball.net
  19. ^ "Chelsea goalkeeper Sami Tlemcani chooses Algeria over Morocco". Algeria FC. 27 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sami_Tlemcani
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