INTERVIEW | ‘I just wanted to play football again’ – OGC Nice’s Salis Abdul Samed on the comeback trail | OneFootball

Salis Abdul Samed (25), alongside Seko Fofana, was the motor behind RC Lens’ success back in the 2022-23 season, as Franck Haise’s side finished just one point behind Paris Saint-Germain. But he has failed to hit the same heights since. Fofana left in the summer of 2023, and, with shifting parts around him, Abdul Samed struggled for the consistency that had made him one of Ligue 1’s highest-rated midfielders.

Haise’s departure for OGC Nice the following summer also spelt the end of the Ghanaian’s time with Les Sang et Or. Abdul Samed left on a season-long loan at Sunderland, which began on a difficult footing and never really improved.

“I got injured even before going to Sunderland. I had a problem with the psoas,” revealed Abdul Samed in a roundtable interview attended by Get French Football News. ” I spoke with the doctor and he said that it would be three or four weeks, so I called Régis (Le Bris) and said, ‘I’m injured, so I don’t think I can sign’. But he said, ‘No, we’ll have a look’. So Sunderland’s doctor came to Paris, we did tests, and he said the same thing, that it would be two or three weeks. I arrived at Sunderland and in the first or second week, I started training, and in the second session, I suffered an injury in the same place.”

He continued, “Then it took five or six months [to come back]. I came back, I started playing a bit again, and then I injured my calf, too, so then the season was basically over.” By the end of the campaign, the midfielder had physically recovered, but the months of treatment and a fear of sustaining further injuries had left their mark.

Abdul Samed told to ‘cut loose’

“I was playing, but I was trying to avoid injuries and everything, so there were lots of things going on in my head,” revealed the former Lens and Clermont Foot midfielder. Prior to speaking to Abdul Samed, Franck Haise, whom the midfielder calls his “European dad”, spoke about the midfielder needing to “cut loose”.

“I know him very well. I know what he can bring. It is quite simple, he wanted to gain confidence by playing five-metre passes,” began Haise, who has started the midfielder in two Ligue 1 games this season. He did not come off the bench in last weekend’s 1-0 win over FC Nantes.

“It isn’t by playing five-metre passes that you will build your confidence. Over the past week in training, I have seen the Salis that I know, the one that is capable of playing positively, the one that I expect. In matches, he wanted to play it safe, but nothing happens when you do that. He recognised that. It isn’t a problem that he makes errors; the most important thing is the intention. But I can understand. He has barely played for a year, and when he arrives, he isn’t surrounded by this great euphoria. The objective is to switch his mindset… and become once again the player that I knew so well and who was so important,” said Haise.

Abdul Samed expanded on his discussion with the Nice manager, “I am progressing little by little. I have been speaking with my Dad (Haise). He has told me to cut loose and play like before,” he began.

The Ghana international continued, “As I didn’t play a lot last year, I was injured almost the whole season. It is only the start, and as it is only the start, I said that I would play simply in order to get my confidence back. That was a personal choice, but Haise said, “cut loose, do what you do”, and so this week I have been doing that in training, and it’s been going well, so I am very happy. This week was my best since coming, even physically, I have given a lot.”

Haise key to Abdul Samed’s move to OGC Nice

Haise, both on and off the pitch, has played an important role for Abdul Samed, who was visibly emotional when evoking his relationship with the manager.

“He has helped me a lot since I left Clermont Foot to join RC Lens. He has helped me in terms of my football, but also on a human level. He is my European dad, you could say. I know him very well. When he says something, I know it is for my good, so I always listen to him. Haise is someone who is very important in my life,” says Le Gym’s No.99.

And so, when Haise contacted Abdul Samed, the latter’s decision to leave Lens, this time on a permanent deal, was made. “I was a bit shocked because last year, I didn’t really play. He sent me a message on WhatsApp. I was like, ‘Is it really Haise?’ I responded straight away, and I didn’t even hesitate. We spoke, and he spoke about the project. He said that I was the player that he was looking for,” said the Ghanaian.

And for Abdul Samed, the objective this season is clear: “I just want to play football again and be happy. Nice, and with the manager who is here, it is the right place to do what I want to do.”

GFFN | Luke Entwistle – reporting from Nice