First team
01.09.25
HSV sign Sambi Lokonga
The central midfielder joins the Rothosen from Premier League side Arsenal. Claus Costa: “A technically gifted player with superb passing ability.”
HSV have strengthened their midfield with the signing of Albert Sambi Lokonga. The 25-year-old midfielder, who was most recently on loan at Sevilla, joins the Rothosen from Premier League side Arsenal. The Belgian passed his medical at the UKE Athleticum on Sunday afternoon (31st August). The following day (Monday, 1st September), he was at the Volksparkstadion ready to sign his new contract.
“In Sambi, we have signed a midfielder who is equally as talented as he is experienced. He’s shown his quality at the highest level over the past few years in the Premier League and in LaLiga and will help our team in build-up play as well as in transition. We’re over the moon to be able to welcome him to HSV,” said board member for sport Stefan Kuntz following the arrival of the twice-capped Belgian international.
Director of football Claus Costa, with regard to the new signing’s playing style, added: “Sambi is a technically gifted player with superb passing ability, especially in terms of long balls. He is confident with the ball at his feet and is impressive in terms of his ability, calmness and his tactical awareness. These skills will benefit our team enormously.”
From playing on the streets to the international stage
Albert-Mboyo Sambi Lokonga, nickname “Sambi”, was born in Verviers in Belgium on 22nd October 1999. He developed both a love for football and his technical skills on the streets of the Pré-Javais district, alongside his older brother Paul-Jose Mpoku, who became a professional footballer before Sambi. As a teenager, he joined the renowned youth academy of RSC Anderlecht, playing in all of the subsequent age groups. The Belgian record champions gave him his first professional contract at 18 years old in 2017, and he made his debut for the first team not long afterwards.
The midfielder joined Arsenal as an internationally recognised top talent before the 2021/22 campaign, after 78 competitive games (three goals, seven assists) for the Belgian side. Sambi Lokonga played 39 competitive games up until the second half of the 2022/23 season for the Gunners, 25 of which came in the Premier League and six in the Europa League. Loan spells with Crystal Palace and Luton Town saw him appear another 26 times at the highest level of English football, before being sent out on loan again, this time to Sevilla in LaLiga. He played 22 times for the Spanish first-division side, starting 16 of those games.
“I was warmly welcomed here and can hardly wait to get started working with these lovely people. I’m a team player. I really want to use my quality to help the team – whether through goals, assists, or defensive work. I just want to get going. I want to get out onto the field and play football," said Lokonga, who will wear the number 6 shirt for HSV. Welcome, ‘Sambi’!