Martin Samuelsen (born 17 April 1997) is a Norwegian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays for

FK Haugesund Fotballklubben Haugesund (English: ''Football Club Haugesund''), usually referred to as FK Haugesund or FKH, is a professional Norway, Norwegian association football, football club from the city of Haugesund, Rogaland, Norway. The club currently ...

. After long spells at the academies of

Vard Haugesund Sportsklubben Vard Haugesund is a Norwegian football club located in Haugesund. The team currently plays in the 2. divisjon after being promoted from the 3. divisjon in 2019. The team reached the Norwegian Football Cup finals in 1962 and 1975. ...

and

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

and short trials at big clubs across Europe, Samuelsen signed for West Ham in June 2015. Samuelsen, a versatile player, can play both central and wide

midfield Midfield is the part of a sports field that lies approximately in the center. In American football, association football (soccer) and field hockey, it is the area in and around the center circle, as well as the players who occupy that region. In ...

positions as well as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He went on loan at

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

for the majority of the 2015–16 season. Samuelsen has represented his country at youth level, earning caps at under-16, under-17, under-18 and under-21 levels. In June 2016, he made his debut for the Norway senior team.

Youth career

Having just turned 14, Samuelsen was playing for

at youth level when he reportedly attracted interest from clubs such as

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

and

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. A year later, he joined Manchester City where he spent three years at their academy, playing regular football for their Elite Development Squad.

Professional career

West Ham United

After the transfer to West Ham United was announced on 20 June 2015, Samuelsen scored on his debut in a friendly at

three weeks later. He made his professional debut for the club five days later at the

Boleyn Ground The Boleyn Ground, often referred to as Upton Park, was a football stadium located in Upton Park, east London. It was the home of West Ham United from 1904 to 2016, and was briefly used by Charlton Athletic in the early 1990s during their years ...

in a

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

second qualifying round match against

Birkirkara Birkirkara (abbreviated as B'Kara) is a city in the central region of Malta. It is the second most populous on the island, with 24,356 inhabitants as of 2020. The town consists of five autonomous parishes: Saint Helen, Saint Joseph the Worker, Ou ...

, replacing

Morgan Amalfitano Morgan Henri René Amalfitano (born 20 March 1985) is a retired French professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He has played for Cannes, Sedan, Lorient, Marseille, West Bromwich Albion and West Ham United. Amalfitano has earned one ...

after 59 minutes. Samuelsen is contracted to the

East London East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the f ...

club until June 2020.

Peterborough United (loan)

On 24 November 2015,

announced the signing of Samuelsen on a one-month loan deal until 2 January. Samuelsen scored his first goal for Peterborough on 2 January 2016 in a 3–2 away win against

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

. With the game at 2–2, he received the ball near the

touch-line The touch-line is the line on either side of the playing area of a game of rugby league, rugby union and association football. In many other sports it is called a sidelines, side-line. The continuation of the touch-line beyond the goal (sport), g ...

before weaving past several defenders and shooting past Sheffield goalkeeper George Long. The manner of the goal drew comparisons with the playing style of

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...

. In January his loan was extended until the end of the 2015–16 season. Samuelsen returned to West Ham on 22 April 2016 to compete in the

U21 Premier League Cup The Premier League Cup is an English football competition run by the Premier League for under–21 sides. History The competition was created in 2013 as the U21 Premier League Cup, an U21 equivalent of the FA Youth Cup (an U18 competition com ...

final which West Ham won over two legs.

Blackburn Rovers (loan)

On 25 August 2016, Samuelsen joined

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

on a season-long loan. On 22 November 2016, Samuelsen's loan at the club was cut short after a lack of playing time.

Peterborough United (loan)

On 1 January 2017, Samuelsen returned to Peterborough United on loan until the end of the 2016–17 season.

Burton Albion (loan)

On 17 January 2018, Samuelsen joined

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home groun ...

on loan until the end of the 2017–18 season.

VVV-Venlo (loan)

In August 2018, Samuelsen joined

VVV-Venlo VVV-Venlo (, ''VVV'' stands for ''Venlose Voetbal Vereniging'' meaning "Venlo Football Club") is a Dutch football club from Venlo, a city on the border with Germany. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following ...

in a season-long loan deal.

FK Haugesund (loan)

On 20 February 2019, Samuelsen joined

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipality on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. While the population is greater in the neighboring Karmøy municipality, the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and southern ...

in a loan deal until the end of the English league season, and this was extended until the end of the Norwegen

Eliteserien Eliteserien () is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion ...

on 25 June. He was given his debut on 31 March, replacing Bruno Leite for the final 14 minutes of a 3-2 league defeat to

Strømsgodset Strømsgodset is a former municipality in Vestfold county (from 1964 Buskerud county), Norway, today a part of the city of Drammen. History Strømsgodset was originally a small rural annex to the city parish of Bragernes (Drammen). But since th ...

. His first goal for the club was the opening goal in a 2–0 win at

Ranheim Ranheim is a neighbourhood in the city of Trondheim in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the borough of Østbyen. The neighbourhood approximately to the east of the centre of Trondheim. It comprises Olderdalen, Væretrøa, Reppe, and ...

on 14 April. On 18 July he scored his first goal in the

as Haugesund beat

Cliftonville Cliftonville is a coastal area of the town of Margate, situated to the east of the main town, in the Thanet district of Kent, South East England, United Kingdom. It also contains the area known as Palm Bay. The original Palm Bay estate was ...

5–1.

Hull City

He signed on a two and a half year deal for

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, that compete in the . They have played home games at the MKM Stadium since moving ...

on 16 January 2020 for an undisclosed fee. He made his debut on 18 January 2020, when he came off the bench as a 62nd-minute substitute for Josh Bowler in the 1–0 defeat away to

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

. On 17 November 2020, he scored a brace in the 3–0 win against

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that in the 2022–23 season will compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system, following the victory in ...

in the final group match of the

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

. On 1 February 2021, he joined

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each yea ...

side AaB on loan until the end of the season, with an option to make the deal permanent.

FK Haugesund

On 1 July 2021, Samuelsen signed a permanent deal with Norwegian side

for an undisclosed fee.

International career

Samuelsen has represented Norway's youth teams on numerous occasions throughout his youth career. On 25 March 2016, aged 18, Samuelsen made his debut for Norway U21s against Netherlands Under 21s in a 1–0 win. Three days later, he played again for the U21s this time against Spain Under 21s in a 1–0 defeat. Following Norway's failure to qualify for

Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

, Samuelsen was picked for the Norway national team aged 19. He made his debut by coming off the bench in the 53rd minute replacing

Pål André Helland Pål André Helland (born 4 January 1990) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Lillestrøm in Eliteserien. Helland arrived at Rosenborg on 26 July 2013 from the winner of the 2012 Norwegian Football Cup Final, IL Hø ...

in a 3–2 win over

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. Samuelsen won the free-kick that led to Norway's third goal just after coming on. Samuelsen scored his first goal for the national team in a 4–1 win against

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

Career statistics

International goals

:''Scores and results list Norway's goal tally first.''

Honours

Individual

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup ( no, Norgesmesterskapet i fotball for herrer) is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football ...

Top goalscorer:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Samuelsen, Martin 1997 births Living people Sportspeople from Haugesund Footballers from Rogaland Norwegian footballers Norway men's international footballers West Ham United F.C. players Peterborough United F.C. players Manchester City F.C. players Men's association football midfielders Norway men's youth international footballers Norwegian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in England English Football League players Blackburn Rovers F.C. players Burton Albion F.C. players VVV-Venlo players Hull City A.F.C. players AaB Fodbold players FK Haugesund players Eredivisie players Danish Superliga players Eliteserien players Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Norwegian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Footballers educated at St Bede's College, Manchester