Sami Tlemcani
Personal information
Date of birth (2004-07-21) 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)

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 0000000000
2022–23 0000000000
Total 0000000000
Merstham (loan) 2021–22 Isthmian League 5000–0050
Career total 5000000050
Notes

    References

    1. 1 2 "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. 1 2 "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. 1 2 "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 2023-07-06.
    10. ↑ "Στην ΑΕΚ Β ο Σαμί Τλεμκανί < ΑΝΑΚΟΙΝΩΣΕΙΣ". AEK F.C. Official Web Site (in Greek). Retrieved 2023-08-01.
    11. ↑ Briand, Kévin (25 November 2019). "Sami Tlemcani en Equipe de France" [Sami Tlemcani in the French 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. February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
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