Junior Sambia

Junior Sambia
Sambia with Montpellier in 2017
Personal information
Full name Salomon Sambia[1][2]
Date of birth (1996-09-07) 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)

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.

Career

Chamois Niortais

Born 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

In 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

On 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

Born 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

In 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

As of match played 25 May 2025[2]
Appearance and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Chamois Niortais 2014–15 Ligue 2 50000050
2015–16 Ligue 2 3124000352
2016–17 Ligue 2 374401[a]0424
2017–18 Ligue 2 30001[a]040
Total 7668020866
Chamois Niortais B 2015–16 CFA 2 5 0 — — 5 0
Montpellier (loan) 2017–18 Ligue 1 281214[a]1343
Montpellier 2018–19 Ligue 1 300101[a]0320
2019–20 Ligue 1 171302[a]0221
2020–21 Ligue 1 36150—411
2021–22 Ligue 1 30130—331
Total 1414141711626
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 2200000220
2023–24 Serie A 1812000201
Total 4012000421
Empoli 2024–25 Serie A 17050—220
Career total 286122919132414
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Appearance(s) in the Coupe de la Ligue

References

  1. ↑ "La fiche de Salomon Sambia". LFP.fr. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Salomon Sambia". foot-national.com. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  3. ↑ "Junior Sambia". U.S. Salernitana 1919. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  4. ↑ "Junior Sambia". chamoisniortais.fr. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Philippe Blais (24 July 2014). "Batisse et Sambia: les élèves pros". La Nouvelle République. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  6. ↑ Philippe Jounier (19 March 2015). "Ils travaillent dans l'ombre". La Nouvelle République. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  7. ↑ Castanheira, Julien (23 August 2017). "Officiel - Junior Sambia rejoint le MHSC". Ouest-France (in French). Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  8. ↑ "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.
  9. ↑ "SALOMON JUNIOR SAMBIA È UN NUOVO GIOCATORE DELLA SALERNITANA" (in Italian). Salernitana. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  10. ↑ "Junior Sambia è un nuovo calciatore azzurro" [Junior Sambia is a new footballer] (in Italian). Empoli. 30 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  11. ↑ "Junior Sambia: risoluzione consensuale del contratto" [Junior Sambia: mutual termination of contract] (in Italian). Salernitana. 11 July 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  12. ↑ "Liste des Fauves A publiée ce jour par le sélectionneur national Éloge ENZA" (in French). facebook. 20 May 2026.
  13. ↑ Monaghan, Matt. "Why Junior Sambia is most-important footballer in Europe, as big leagues plot returns - Sport360 News". sport360.com. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  14. ↑ "Nouvelles rassurantes pour Junior Sambia sorti du coma". midilibre.fr. 25 April 2020.
  15. ↑ "Montpellier player out of coma, recovering - agent". ESPN.com. 27 April 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
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