Sammie Szmodics

Sammie Szmodics

Personal information
Full name	Samuel Joseph Szmodics [1]
Date of birth	(1995-09-24) 24 September 1995 (age 28) [2]
Place of birth	Colchester, England
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) [3]
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team	Blackburn Rovers
Number	8
Youth career
2002–2013	Colchester United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2019	Colchester United	142	(35)
2015	→ Braintree Town (loan)	3	(2)
2019–2020	Bristol City	3	(0)
2020	→ Peterborough United (loan)	10	(4)
2020–2022	Peterborough United	79	(21)
2022–	Blackburn Rovers	75	(29)
International career‡
2024–	Republic of Ireland	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 00:41, 13 April 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:44, 26 March 2024 (UTC)

Samuel Joseph Szmodics (born 24 September 1995) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for EFL Championship club Blackburn Rovers and the Republic of Ireland national team.

Szmodics started his career with hometown club Colchester United, where from the age of seven he progressed through the club's Academy. He made his professional debut for the club in September 2013 and scored 38 goals in 162 appearances for the club. While with Colchester, he appeared on loan for Braintree Town in 2015. In June 2019, Szmodics left Colchester to join Bristol City.

Szmodics joined Peterborough in September 2020, after a successful six-month loan spell at the end of the previous season.

Szmodics made his Republic of Ireland debut in a friendly against Belgium in March 2024. ^[4]

Club career

Colchester United

Szmodics is a product of the Colchester United Academy, having progressed through the club's youth ranks since the age of seven. ^[5] He was a regular starter and scorer for the under-18 side, which included a goal in Colchester's 3–2 FA Youth Cup defeat by Chelsea on 1 December 2012, sweeping in Macauley Bonne's cross. ^[6]

2013–14 season

For Colchester United's 2013–14 pre-season campaign, Szmodics was drafted in to the first-team for their friendly fixtures. He was included in manager Joe Dunne's squad for a game at AFC Sudbury on 12 July 2013, and scored twice in two first-half minutes to hand Colchester a 2–0 lead in their eventual 5–0 win. ^[7] Szmodics was then drafted into the first-team squad during the season while the club were suffering an injury crisis. ^[8] He came on as a substitute for Craig Eastmond to make his professional debut on 28 September as Colchester drew 1–1 with Bristol City at Ashton Gate. ^[9]

While appearing in the first-team, Szmodics continued to play for the under-18s. He helped his side to a FA Youth Cup first round 4–1 win over AFC Wimbledon on 12 November by scoring the opening goal, which also helped to extend their unbeaten run to 13 wins from 13 league and cup games. ^[10]

Szmodics was shortlisted for the Football League Apprentice of the Year award in the League One category in January 2014, facing opposition from Preston North End's Josh Brownhill and Milton Keynes Dons' Brendan Galloway. ^[11] He finished as runner-up to Galloway in the awards held in March 2014. ^[12]

With the Colchester United under-18 side, Szmodics helped to earn the club a league title and cup winning double during the 2013–14 season. He scored a hat-trick in the Youth Alliance Cup final held against Bradford City at Valley Parade on 29 April in a 4–2 win for the U's. ^[13]

Szmodics ended the campaign with seven League One substitute appearances and one FA Cup substitute appearances to his name. ^[14]

2014–15 season

Szmodics made his first appearance of the season as a second-half substitute for Freddie Sears in Colchester's 4–0 away defeat to Charlton Athletic in the League Cup on 12 August 2014. ^[15] He then made his first professional start for the club on 30 August, when the U's were defeated 3–1 by Peterborough United at the Colchester Community Stadium. Szmodics was replaced by Dominic Vose after 57 minutes. ^[16]

Szmodics signed a three-and-a-half year contract extension with Colchester on 10 October to see him through to the summer of 2018. ^[17] He then scored his first professional goal for the club on 9 November. After coming on as an 81st-minute substitute for Alex Gilbey in the U's FA Cup first round tie against Gosport Borough, Szmodics lifted the ball over the Gosport goalkeeper in stoppage time, scoring Colchester's sixth goal in a 6–3 win. ^[18] He scored his first league goal on Boxing Day 2014 in Colchester's 2–1 home defeat by Gillingham, turning in Sean Clohessy's pass. ^[19] Having been confined mostly to substitute appearances, manager Humes said that Szmodics had been "very close" to being a regular starter for the club over the Christmas period, and that the player was "very much in our thoughts, going forward". ^[20] Szmodics then broke into the first-team with a string of starts, beginning with a goalless draw with Crawley Town on 28 December. ^[21]

After breaking into the first-team and making 35 appearances across the season, as well as scoring five goals, ^[22] Szmodics was named as Colchester United 'Young Player of the Year' in May 2015. ^[23]

2015–16 season and Braintree Town loan

After making six appearances in the first team in the early stages of the 2015–16 season, Szmodics was allowed to leave the club on loan in order to gain more first-team experience. He joined National League side Braintree Town on 30 October 2015 for an initial month-long loan. ^[24] He made a goalscoring debut the following day as his 75th-minute goal earned Braintree a 1–0 win against Macclesfield Town at Cressing Road. ^[25] Szmodics was recalled by his parent club on 27 November following manager Tony Humes' dismissal by Colchester on 26 November. ^[26]

A foot injury kept Szmodics out of action for several months, wearing a protective boot and requiring injections in order to avoid an operation across Christmas and the New Year. ^[27] He was ruled out for the rest of the season in March 2016 after undergoing surgery on his ankle. ^[28] He had made eight appearances for Colchester in addition to his three for Braintree. ^[29] Szmodics signed a three-year contract extension with the club on 21 June. ^[30]

2016–17 season

Szmodics scored his first goal of the 2016–17 season on 27 August 2016 in Colchester's 2–0 win at Adams Park against Wycombe Wanderers. ^[31] His ankle injury resurfaced during the latter stages of 2016, and in January 2017 he was forced to undergo surgery on his troublesome ankle which physio Tony Flynn estimated would keep Szmodics out of action for approximately six weeks. ^[32] He returned to action on 4 March 2017, replacing Sean Murray during Colchester's game against Cambridge United. Within eight minutes of being introduced, Szmodics scored an equaliser for Colchester to earn a 1–1 draw. ^[33] Following a challenge on Crewe Alexandra striker Chris Dagnall during Colchester's 2–0 away defeat on 18 March, it was confirmed that Szmodics had broken his leg and would be ruled out for the remainder of the campaign, having scored five goals in 23 games for Colchester. ^[34]

2017–18 season

Szmodics came off the bench to score his first goal of the season and Colchester's only goal on 5 August in their season-opening 3–1 defeat at Accrington Stanley. ^[35] After scoring five goals in five games throughout December, including a brace in a 3–1 win against Exeter City, Szmodics was nominated for the EFL League Two Player of the Month award. ^[36] His performances during the first half of the season led to speculation that he was to sign for Premier League side AFC Bournemouth for a £1 million fee during the January transfer window. ^[37] He was subsequently named League Two Player of the Month on 12 January. ^[38]

2018–19 season

Szmodics was again Colchester's top scorer for the second successive season with 15 goals, and with his contract set to expire at the end of the season, he was once again linked with a move away from the club. ^[39]

Bristol City

On 28 June 2019, Szmodics ended his 16-year association with Colchester United, signing for Championship club Bristol City for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract. ^[40]

2019–20 season and Peterborough United loan

After making just four appearances in five months at Bristol City, Szmodics signed for Peterborough United on a six-month loan deal on 16 January 2020. ^[41]

Szmodics played his first game for Peterborough two days later, in a 1–0 defeat at AFC Wimbledon ^[42] and went on to make a total of 10 appearances during his loan spell, scoring four goals – including a brace against Ipswich Town in a 4–1 win over their promotion rivals. ^[43]

Peterborough United

On 8 September 2020, Szmodics signed permanently for Peterborough. ^[44] He signed a four-year contract after signing for an "undisclosed fee" believed to be in excess of £1m, with a number of other clubs rumoured to be interested, including Sunderland and Portsmouth. ^[45] Szmodics scored 16 goals in all competitions for Peterborough in the 2020–21 season, helping the club win promotion back to the Championship.

Blackburn Rovers

On 1 August 2022, Szmodics joined Blackburn Rovers on a three-year deal with an optional extra year, for an undisclosed fee. ^{[46] [47]} Peterborough had earlier rejected three bids from Blackburn, all in excess of £1m, before a fee was agreed. ^[48] Blackburn manager Jon Dahl Tomasson said that Szmodics would be well-suited to the club's intense style of play. ^[49] On 6 August 2022, Szmodics scored on his debut for Blackburn in a 3–0 away win against Swansea City. ^[50]

Following a blistering start to the 2023–24 season, Szmodics was awarded the EFL Championship Player of the Month for November 2023 having scored six goals in four matches. ^[51]

International career

As well as his country of birth England, Szmodics is also eligible to represent Republic of Ireland and Hungary through his County Longford Irish-born grandmother and Hungarian-born grandfather. ^{[52] [53]}

On 28 May 2021, Szmodics received his first call up to the Republic of Ireland senior squad for the summer friendlies against Andorra and Hungary (the country of one of his ancestors), following the withdrawal of Callum Robinson and Aaron Connolly from the initial squad through injury. ^[54] On 2 June 2021, he was ruled out of the Republic of Ireland squad after he aggravated an existing shoulder problem in training ahead of the Andorra game. ^[55]

In October 2023, he was recalled for two UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying games against Greece and Gibraltar, ^[56] but withdrew from the squad for personal reasons. ^[57]

In March 2024, Hungary manager Marco Rossi publicly criticised Szmodics for allegedly leaking information to the media about Rossi's contact to attempt to convince him to switch his international allegiance to Hungary ahead of their UEFA Euro 2024 campaign. ^[58] Szmodics himself disputed Rossi's claims however, stating: "Their manager has come out and said what he has said about me. I am not really sure where it comes from, as I have never spoken to anyone from that country. I am fully focused on playing for Ireland. It was never really a decision, it all came out of nowhere really, he said I used that as a ploy to get in this squad, which is not what happened at all. It's nothing I've ever heard of, I've not spoken to anyone from there." ^[59]

He made his long awaited debut for the Republic of Ireland on 23 March 2024, in a 0–0 draw with Belgium at the Aviva Stadium. ^[60]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 13 April 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Colchester United	2013–14 [14]	League One	7	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
	2014–15 [22]	League One	31	4	2	1	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	35	5
	2015–16 [29]	League One	5	0	1	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	8	0
	2016–17 [61]	League Two	19	5	1	0	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	0	23	5
	2017–18 [62]	League Two	37	12	0	0	1	0	2 [lower-alpha 1]	1	40	13
	2018–19 [63]	League Two	44	14	1	0	1	1	3 [lower-alpha 1]	0	49	15
	Total		142	35	6	1	5	1	9	1	163	38
Braintree Town (loan)	2015–16 [29]	National League	3	2	0	0	—		0	0	3	2
Bristol City	2019–20 [64]	Championship	3	0	0	0	1	0	—		4	0
Peterborough United (loan)	2019–20 [64]	League One	10	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	4
Peterborough United	2020–21 [65]	League One	42	15	1	0	0	0	3 [lower-alpha 1]	1	46	16
	2021–22 [66]	Championship	36	6	3	1	0	0	—		39	7
	2022–23 [67]	League One	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	Total		89	25	4	1	0	0	3	1	96	27
Blackburn Rovers	2022–23 [67]	Championship	34	5	4	2	3	0	—		41	7
	2023–24 [68]	Championship	41	24	3	6	1	0	—		45	30
	Total		75	29	7	8	4	0	—		86	37
Career total			313	91	17	10	10	1	12	2	352	104

1. Appearance(s) in the Football League Trophy

International

As of match played 26 March 2024

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Republic of Ireland
	2024	2	0
Total		2	0

Honours

Colchester United U18

• Football League Youth Alliance South East: 2013–14 ^[69]
• Football League Youth Alliance Cup: 2013–14 ^[13]

Individual

• Colchester United Young Player of the Year: 2015 ^[23]
• EFL Championship Player of the Month: November 2023 ^[51]
• EFL Championship Team of the Season: 2023–24 ^[70]

References

1. "Professional Retain List & Free Transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. p. 31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
2. Sammie Szmodics at Soccerbase
3. "Colchester United". FootballSquads. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
4. McCann, Lauren (23 March 2024). "Republic of Ireland 0-0 Belgium: Evan Ferguson misses penalty in stalemate". BBC Sport. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
5. Myers, Richard (31 July 2013). "Sammie Szmodics Q&A". St Edmunds Youth FC (Colchester). Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2013– via Pitchero.
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9. "Bristol City 1–1 Colchester". BBC Sport. 28 September 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
10. Marston, Carl (15 November 2013). "The U's successful conveyor belt". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 7 June 2015.^{[ dead link ]}
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12. "Brendan Galloway named LFE Apprentice of the Year for League 1". Football League. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2015.^{[ dead link ]}
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16. "Colchester 1–3 Peterborough". BBC Sport. 30 August 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
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21. Marston, Carl (2 January 2015). "Sammie Szmodics looking forward to a big year at Colchester United". East Anglian Daily Times. Colchester. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
22. "Games played by Sammie Szmodics in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
23. Waldron, Jonathan (9 May 2015). "Eastman wins U's player of the year award for second successive year". Daily Gazette. Colchester. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
24. "Sammie Szmodics: Braintree Town sign Colchester United midfielder". BBC Sport. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
25. "Braintree 1–0 Macclesfield". BBC Sport. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
26. Hudson, Matt (27 November 2015). "Sammie Recalled". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
27. Waldron, Jonathan (23 February 2016). "Colchester United hoping Sammie Szmodics can avoid a foot operation after two-month lay-off". Daily Gazette. Colchester. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
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30. Waldron, Jonathan (21 June 2016). "Sammie Szmodics has committed his future to Colchester United". Daily Gazette. Colchester. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
31. "Wycombe Wanderers 0–2 Colchester United". BBC Sport. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
32. Gregory, David (4 January 2017). "Surgery For Szmodics". Colchester United FC. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
33. "Cambridge United 1–1 Colchester United". BBC Sport. 4 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
34. Spurgeon, Simon (19 March 2017). "Another injury blow for Colchester as Szmodics confirms he's broken his leg". Daily Gazette. Colchester. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
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37. Marston, Carl (7 January 2018). "Colchester United attacker Sammie Szmodics linked with move to Bournemouth". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
38. "Player of the Month: Sammie Szmodics – Colchester United". English Football League. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2018.^{[ dead link ]}
39. Waldron, Jonathan (6 May 2019). "Colchester United's Sammie Szmodics linked with summer exit". Daily Gazette. Newsquest Media Group. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
40. "Colchester United's Sammie Szmodics seals Bristol City move". Anglia News. ITV News. 28 June 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
41. "Posh Secure Loan Signing Of Szmodics". Peterborough United FC. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
42. "AFC Wimbledon 1-0 Peterborough United: Joe Pigott scores winner". BBC Sport. 18 January 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
43. "Ipswich Town 1-4 Peterborough United". BBC Sport. 1 February 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
44. "Sammie Szmodics: Peterborough United sign Bristol City midfielder". BBC Sport. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
45. MacGregor, Gregor (8 September 2020). "Peterborough United beat Sunderland and Portsmouth in race for Bristol City's Sam Szmodics". Bristol Post. Reach. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
46. "Blackburn complete signings of Morton and Szmodics". BBC Sport. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
47. "Sammie signs!". Blackburn Rovers FC. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
48. Sharpe, Rich (26 July 2022). "Update on Rovers' interest in Peterborough United's Sammie Szmodics". Lancashire Telegraph. Newsquest Media Group. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
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50. Vincent, Gareth (6 August 2022). "Swansea 0–3 Blackburn Rovers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
51. "Szmodics scoops Player of the Month prize!". www.rovers.co.uk. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
52. "Sam Szmodics receives first Ireland call-up as Randolph, Robinson, and Connolly ruled out". Irish Examiner. 28 May 2021.
53. "Szmodics gets the call as Kenny hit by more injuries". RTÉ Sport. 28 May 2021.
54. "Sam Szmodics receives first call-up as three ruled out". Football Association of Ireland. 28 May 2021.
55. "Sam Szmodics: Republic of Ireland midfielder ruled out of Andorra and Hungary games with injury". Sky Sports. 2 June 2021.
56. "Sammie Szmodics replaces injured Aaron Connolly in Republic of Ireland squad". RTÉ Sport. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
57. Cooney, Gavin (12 October 2023). "Sammie Szmodics withdraws from Irish squad ahead of Greece clash". The 42.
58. "Hungary manager criticises Sammie Szmodics with Blackburn forward in Ireland contention". The Irish Times.
59. "'I've sorted my passport for Ireland years ago' – Sammie Szmodics blasts back over 'nonsense' Hungary claims". Irish Independent. 19 March 2024.
60. "Sammie Szmodics admits long-awaited Ireland debut is 'a lot to take in'". Irish Independent. 23 March 2024.
61. "Games played by Sammie Szmodics in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
62. "Games played by Sammie Szmodics in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
63. "Games played by Sammie Szmodics in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
64. "Games played by Sammie Szmodics in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
65. "Games played by Sammie Szmodics in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
66. "Games played by Sammie Szmodics in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
67. "Games played by Sammie Szmodics in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
68. "Games played by Sammie Szmodics in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
69. "Newsletter 34" (PDF). Football League. 14 April 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2014.
70. "See who made the EFL Team of the Season line-ups". EFL. 14 April 2024. Retrieved 14 April 2024.

External links

• Sammie Szmodics at Soccerbase