PROFILE | Salis Abdul Samed – Covering ground is what the Lens man does best, will he be on the move again soon?

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At 18-years-old, Salis Abdul Samed made the 500km voyage from Ghana to the Ivory Coast to join the JMG Academy, a training centre set up by former France international Jean-Marc Guillou – hence the self-titled acronym. Academies such as JMG have provided vital pathways for African talent to forge a career in Europe’s top five leagues. JMG’s most notable graduate is former Lyon defender and Belgium international Jason Denayer.

If you told an 18-year-old Abdul Samed that he would be representing Ghana at the World Cup only three years later, he might have dismissed the possibility as little more than a dream. If you added that he would be playing for an exciting and ambitious Ligue 1 side chasing a star-laden Paris Saint-Germain at the top of the table, he would have probably laughed at you.

However, that dream is now a reality for the defensive midfielder. The move from Ghana to the Ivory Coast was the first step before a 4500km voyage to the central French town of Clermont Ferrand and then a more recent five-hour motorway journey north to the historic mining town of Lens. However, the 6000km voyage from Lens to Qatar topped the lot.

Covering distance isn’t only something which characterises the midfielder’s story, it’s the essential hallmark of his playing style. On signing for Lens for €5m in the summer, the young midfielder was described by the then-sporting director Florent Ghisolfi as the “complete midfielder” with attributes of “a player who has a lot of pace, a lot of running and a lot of intensity”.

Ghisolfi was proved right just before his departure to OGC Nice in October as Abdul Samed was ranked second in Ligue 1’s distance covered metric, covering an average of 12.2km each game for Lens. Of course, there’s a lot more than just running to his game. At 22-years-old, the Accra-born midfielder has slotted seamlessly into the crucial Cheick Doucouré role at the base of Franck Haise’s midfield after the Malian left for Crystal Palace.

It’s no small feat, as Lens fans grew to love the midfielder. However, the incoming Abdul Samed’s underrated work in positional play, ball retention and passing has acted as the springboard for some of Lens’ more deadly attacking play this season. No Doucouré? No problem.

It may seem rather silly now, but there were some doubts raised over the state of Haise’s side during pre-season. Questions were being asked over whether Lens could cope with the loss of some of their key players such as wing-back Jonathan Clauss and indeed the London-bound Doucouré. Lens had finished seventh in Ligue 1 and many season previews only saw them roughly maintaining that position. Even the most avid believers in the Franck Haise project underestimated the power of its continuity.

That continuity is seen in the stability of an established system at Lens. Firstly, this manifests itself via Franck Haise’s system’s on-field tactical set-up and the power of an established structure that all the staff and players hold an absolute belief in. It’s a simple idea but it’s one that’s missing in a lot of underperforming Ligue 1 sides.

Secondly, continuity is seen in the system’s resilience to the harsh realities of modern football, such as the likelihood that a big team with lots of money will come and buy your best players, your manager and your coaching staff. What do you do when a Premier League side comes knocking? What’s the ‘continuity’ plan?

Lens has provided a lesson in resilience this season that speaks to the trials and tribulations of the former mining community it represents, and Samed is the on-pitch manifestation of that. Abdul Samed is both the product and the purveyor of Lens’ determined and continued success this season.

The World Cup is often a showcase for young underrated talents such as Abdul Samed and, despite a mixed campaign in Qatar for Ghana, Abdul Samed started all three Group H games, despite just one cap previously, in the heart of the Black Stars’ midfield. That’s despite Samed already refusing a place as a reserve call-up for Ghana’s last round of international fixtures. He’s a young man with ambition and his performances in Ligue 1 more than merited a place alongside Arsenal’s Thomas Partey and Mohammed Kudus of Ajax.

Having performed solidly in a tough group, facing Uruguay, Portugal, and South Korea, one of Ligue 1’s best-kept secrets is a secret no more. In 2023 Ghana’s rising star will aim to become the driving force behind Lens’ return to Europe and possible Champions League charge in Ligue 1. Next summer, however, he could again be on the move.

George Boxall

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