Salis Abdul Samed

Salis Abdul Samed

Abdul Samed with Lens in 2023
Personal information
Full name	Salis Abdul Samed
Date of birth	26 March 2000
Place of birth	Accra, Ghana
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Lens
Number	6
Youth career
	JMG Academy
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019–2021	JMG Academy	0	(0)
2019–2021	→ Clermont (loan)	12	(0)
2021–2022	Clermont	31	(1)
2022–	Lens	51	(1)
International career‡
2022–	Ghana	8	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:03, 28 January 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:20, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Salis Abdul Samed (born 26 March 2000) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Ligue 1 club Lens and the Ghana national team.

Club career

Clermont

Abdul Samed played for JMG Academy originally in Accra, before later moving to the academy in Djékanou, Ivory Coast, after the Accra academy closed. On 24 July 2019, he joined Clermont on a two-year loan deal from the JMG Academy. He made his debut with the club in a 2–2 (5–4 on penalties) Coupe de la Ligue loss to Lens on 27 August 2019. Samed was part of the Clermont squad that earned promotion into the Ligue 1 after placing second in the 2019–20 Ligue 2. On 12 July 2021, Abdul Samed moved to Clermont on a permanent basis and signed a four-year contract.

Lens

On 24 June 2022, Abdul Samed signed for Lens in a transfer worth a reported €5 million. He signed a five-year contract with the club. He made his debut on the first match on 7 August, playing the full 90 minutes in Lens 3–2 victory over Stade Brestois 29. He scored his first goal on 31 August 2022 against Lorient. Samed ended the season, with 33 ligue one appearances starting 32 of those. He also started all their four Coupe de France matches as they reached the Quarter-finals and were eliminated by defending champions FC Nantes. He formed a formidable partnership with Lens captain Seko Fofana with the duo helping the club to place second in the Ligue 1, one point behind champions Paris Saint-Germain. The club's collective performance helped them secure a champions league spot for the first time in 20 years since 2002–03 season and the third time in the club's history. At the end of the season, he was named as the best central midfielder by French sports news outlet Get French Football News and in the outlet's team of the season. He was also nominated for the Prix Marc-Vivien Foé which was won by Chancel Mbemba.

On 8 June 2023, Samed extended his contract with Lens by an extra year, with his contract now set to expire in 2028.

International career

Prior to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, he received his first call-up to the Ghana national team in November 2022. He made his debut against Switzerland in a pre-tournament friendly, starting and playing the full 90 minutes as Ghana won 2–0. In November 2022, Samed participated at the 2022 FIFA World Cup with the Ghana national team.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 28 January 2024

International

As of match played 21 November 2023