Salomon Sambia (born 7 September 1996), commonly known as Junior Sambia,[4][5] is a professional footballer. He plays predominantly as a right back, but can also play as a defensive midfielder or winger. Born in France, he represents the Central African Republic national team.
_(cropped).jpg) Sambia with Montpellier in 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Salomon Sambia[1][2] | ||
| Date of birth | 7 September 1996 | ||
| Place of birth | Vaulx-en-Velin, France | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[3] | ||
| Positions | |||
| Youth career | |||
| 2003–2011 | Lyon | ||
| 2011–2013 | Mâcon | ||
| 2013–2014 | Chamois Niortais | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2018 | Chamois Niortais | 76 | (6) |
| 2017–2018 | → Montpellier (loan) | 28 | (1) |
| 2015–2016 | Chamois Niortais B | 5 | (0) |
| 2018–2019 | Montpellier B | 7 | (1) |
| 2018–2022 | Montpellier | 113 | (3) |
| 2022–2025 | Salernitana | 40 | (1) |
| 2024–2025 | → Empoli (loan) | 17 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2026– | Central African Republic | 1 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16:18, 29 May 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 0:57, 7 June 2026 (UTC) | |||
Career
editChamois Niortais
editBorn in Lyon, Sambia joined the youth set-up at Niort from Mâcon in 2013.[5] In the summer of 2014, he was awarded a first-team contract alongside fellow youth midfielder Antoine Batisse.[5] Sambia made his senior debut for Niort on 12 September 2014 in the 1–0 defeat to Dijon at the age of 18 years and 5 days, becoming the youngest player ever to start a professional match for the club.[6] He went on to make five league appearances in total during the 2014–15 season.[2]
Montpellier
editIn August 2017, Sambia joined Montpellier on a one-year loan with an option to buy.[7] The option would eventually be exercised at the end of the 2017–18 season. In May 2022, his exit from Montpellier at the end of the 2021–22 season was confirmed.[8]
Salernitana
editOn 19 July 2022, Sambia signed a four-year contract with Salernitana in Italy.[9]
On 30 August 2024, Sambia was loaned by Empoli.[10]
On 11 July 2025, Sambia's contract was Salernitana was mutually terminated.[11]
International career
editBorn in France, Sambia is of Central African descent. He was called up to the Central African Republic national team for a set of friendlies in June 2026.[12]
Personal life
editIn April 2020, Sambia was hospitalised after becoming ill and unconscious and was treated in intensive care. He tested positive for COVID-19 and was placed into an artificial coma.[13] However, he eventually recovered.[14][15]
Career statistics
edit- As of match played 25 May 2025[2][citation needed]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Chamois Niortais | 2014–15 | Ligue 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2015–16 | Ligue 2 | 31 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 2 | |
| 2016–17 | Ligue 2 | 37 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 42 | 4 | |
| 2017–18 | Ligue 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 76 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 86 | 6 | ||
| Chamois Niortais B | 2015–16 | CFA 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| Montpellier (loan) | 2017–18 | Ligue 1 | 28 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4[a] | 1 | 34 | 3 |
| Montpellier | 2018–19 | Ligue 1 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 32 | 0 |
| 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 22 | 1 | |
| 2020–21 | Ligue 1 | 36 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | 41 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22 | Ligue 1 | 30 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 33 | 1 | ||
| Total | 141 | 4 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 162 | 6 | ||
| Montpellier B | 2017–18 | National 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | National 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20 | National 2 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 3 | 1 | |||
| 7 | 1 | — | — | 7 | 1 | |||||
| Salernitana | 2022–23 | Serie A | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| 2023–24 | Serie A | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | |
| Total | 40 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 1 | ||
| Empoli | 2024–25 | Serie A | 17 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 22 | 0 | |
| Career total | 286 | 12 | 29 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 324 | 14 | ||
References
edit- ↑ "La fiche de Salomon Sambia". LFP.fr. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
- 1 2 3 "Salomon Sambia". foot-national.com. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
- ↑ "Junior Sambia". U.S. Salernitana 1919. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ↑ "Junior Sambia". chamoisniortais.fr. Retrieved 23 May 2015.[permanent dead link]
- 1 2 3 Philippe Blais (24 July 2014). "Batisse et Sambia: les élèves pros". La Nouvelle République. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
- ↑ Philippe Jounier (19 March 2015). "Ils travaillent dans l'ombre". La Nouvelle République. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
- ↑ Castanheira, Julien (23 August 2017). "Officiel - Junior Sambia rejoint le MHSC". Ouest-France (in French). Retrieved 20 April 2021.
- ↑ "Montpellier confirm exits of five senior players including Junior Sambia, Mihailo Ristić & Nicholas Gioacchini". Get French Football News. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ↑ "SALOMON JUNIOR SAMBIA È UN NUOVO GIOCATORE DELLA SALERNITANA" (in Italian). Salernitana. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
- ↑ "Junior Sambia è un nuovo calciatore azzurro" [Junior Sambia is a new footballer] (in Italian). Empoli. 30 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
- ↑ "Junior Sambia: risoluzione consensuale del contratto" [Junior Sambia: mutual termination of contract] (in Italian). Salernitana. 11 July 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
- ↑ "Liste des Fauves A publiée ce jour par le sélectionneur national Éloge ENZA" (in French). facebook. 20 May 2026.
- ↑ Monaghan, Matt. "Why Junior Sambia is most-important footballer in Europe, as big leagues plot returns - Sport360 News". sport360.com. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
- ↑ "Nouvelles rassurantes pour Junior Sambia sorti du coma". midilibre.fr. 25 April 2020.
- ↑ "Montpellier player out of coma, recovering - agent". ESPN.com. 27 April 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
External links
edit
- Junior Sambia at the U.S. Salernitana 1919 website
- Junior Sambia – French league stats at Ligue 1 – also available in French (archived)