Sami Tlemcani

Sami Tlemcani

Personal information
Date of birth	(2004-07-21) 21 July 2004 (age 20)
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	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. "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. "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. "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.

External links

• Sami Tlemcani at Soccerway