Sami Tlemcani joins MO Bejaia as former Morocco international targets career revival

Sami Tlemcani has joined Algerian second-tier club MO Bejaia, with the former Morocco youth international hoping the move will give his stalled career a fresh start.

The 22-year-old goalkeeper has signed officially for the club in Kabylie after a European career that promised much but has yet to develop at senior level.

Tlemcani was born in France to an Algerian father and a Moroccan mother. He began his development at Creteil before moving to Paris FC, and later joined Chelsea at a young age.

The goalkeeper was involved with Chelsea’s youth teams, but he did not establish himself in the Blues’ senior side or make his breakthrough at the highest level in England.

He subsequently continued his career in Greece with AEK Athens. Tlemcani remained with the club’s reserve team until 2025, but his progress in European football did not take off despite the potential he had shown earlier in his development.

His move to MO Bejaia is intended to provide greater playing time and more responsibility as he attempts to rebuild his career in Algeria.

Tlemcani’s international history has also attracted significant attention.

In 2021, he opted to represent Morocco and was called up by Vahid Halilhodzic to join the Atlas Lions squad for a senior-team camp. However, he did not make an appearance.

He later represented Morocco at Under-20 level. In 2023, though, the goalkeeper announced that he wanted to change his sporting nationality so he could represent Algeria instead.

At the time, Tlemcani said: “I just made a sporting decision.”

He stressed that he remained attached to both countries connected to his family and said his decision should not be interpreted as a rejection of Morocco.

His arrival at MO Bejaia now adds another chapter to a career shaped by movement between countries, clubs and international pathways.

Tlemcani’s early years in France and his subsequent spell in Chelsea’s academy placed him among the goalkeepers viewed as promising at the start of their careers. Yet he was unable to secure a regular place in England and then spent his later European period with AEK Athens’ second team.

The switch to Algeria represents a return to one of the countries closely linked to his background and gives him the opportunity to compete for regular football in the Algerian second division.

For MO Bejaia, the signing brings in a goalkeeper with experience of elite youth football at Chelsea, involvement with Morocco’s senior squad and a history of representing Morocco at Under-20 level. For Tlemcani, it is a chance to turn that experience into consistent first-team responsibility and revive the momentum of his early promise.