French Ligue 1 club RC Lens has announced that midfielder Salis Abdul Samed has been loaned to AFC Sunderland for the remainder of the season.
The Ghanaian international, who had drawn interest from multiple French teams, chose to join the English Sky Bet Championship side.
Salis Abdul Samed prêté à @SunderlandAFC 🔄
Apparu à 72 reprises avec le Racing, le milieu rejoint l’Angleterre sous la forme d’un prêt pour la campagne 2024/25 de @SkyBetChamp.
Bonne saison @salisabdulsamed ! pic.twitter.com/VqAiKVBxIi
— Racing Club de Lens (@RCLens) August 30, 2024
Abdul Samed, who joined Lens in June 2022 for a reported €5 million and signed a five-year deal, made an immediate impact with his debut and first goal in August of the same year.
Despite making 39 appearances last season, including in the Champions League and Europa League, Abdul Samed fell out of favour with new manager Will Still over the summer.
FC Nantes, Stade Brestois, and AS Saint-Étienne were among the clubs linked with the midfielder, but a deal was finalized with Sunderland—now managed by former FC Lorient boss Régis Le Bris—on transfer deadline day. The loan arrangement does not include an option for a permanent transfer.
Abdul Samed has completed his medicals in France and will soon travel to England to join his new squad.
Currently valued at €8 million by Transfermarkt, Abdul Samed has been omitted from the Black Stars squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Angola and Niger.