Saman Ghoddos

Seyed Saman Ghoddoos (born 6 September 1993) is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or striker for Premier League club Brentford and the Iran national team.

A versatile player, Ghoddos can be deployed as a winger, full-back or wing-back.

Saman Ghoddos scored 10 league goals in his first season in the Allsvenskan for Östersunds FK, including their first top-flight goal in his Allsvenskan debut on 4 April 2016 against Hammarby IF.

He scored a brace at his hometown club Malmö FF on 22 October in Swedbank Stadion.

After his good performances in the 2016 season, Ghoddos drew interest from German club Hertha Berlin and Dutch club Ajax.

Born in Sweden to Iranian parents, he initially played for the Sweden national team, before switching allegiance to Iran in 2017.

Ghoddos started the 2017 season in fine form, leading Östersund to the Swedish Cup final with six goals in six games, including an acrobatic goal in the quarter-final against Trelleborgs FF and a brace in the semi-final against Häcken.

He scored his seventh domestic cup goal of the season in the final, leading Östersund to the second qualifying round of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League with manager Graham Potter.

In his UEFA debut, Ghoddos scored a goal and provided an assist for a 2–0 win against Galatasaray on 13 July 2017.

In the return leg, Ghoddos won a penalty with a dribble past Fernando Muslera.

In a league match on 13 August, he scored a long-range goal from 40 meters out against Hammarby IF in Stockholm's Tele2 Arena.

On 24 August, Ghoddos scored two goals in the Europa League play-offs against PAOK to qualify his team to the group stages of the competition.

He scored the club's first tournament proper goal in their group stage debut on 14 September.

He won the attacker of the year award at the end of the 2017 Allsvenskan season.

On 23 November, Ghoddos scored the winning goal to send his club to the knockout phase of the Europa League.

Ghoddos provided two assists in his side's 2–1 win in the second leg of the Europa League round of 32 against English Premier League side Arsenal in London, though they were defeated 4–2 on aggregate.

He scored his first league goal of the season on 15 April against IFK Göteborg, and scored a free kick on 30 April against Brommapojkarna.

On 14 May, he scored from a free kick against AIK in the Friends Arena.

He scored another goal in the next game during a derby match against GIF Sundsvall.

Upon returning from the World Cup, Ghoddos captained his club side and scored a goal in a 2–1 win at Hammarby.

He scored another free kick in the following match on 14 July at Malmö FF.

Ghoddos scored a brace in the following match against Trelleborg to become joint-top scorer of the 2018 Allsvenskan.

He subsequently won the Allsvenskan player of the month award for his performances in July.

On 23 August 2018, Ghoddos transferred to French Ligue 1 side Amiens SC signing a five-year contract.

The transfer fee paid to Östersund was reported as 40 million SEK (about €3.8 million) plus bonuses which would make the transfer the third-most expensive in Allsvenskan history after Alexander Isak and Zlatan Ibrahimović.

However, the transfer was put in doubt by La Liga newcomers SD Huesca contacting FIFA to enquire about the validity of their own agreement to sign Ghoddos.

Ghoddos had signed a contract with the Spanish club which also had a written agreement with Östersund.

Previously, Stade Rennais had decided against signing Ghoddos.

Ghoddos made his competitive debut for Amiens on 25 August 2018 in the Ligue 1 4–1 home win over Reims, scoring a goal for Amiens in the 58th minute.

He thus became the first Iranian player to play in Ligue 1.

On 29 August 2019, FIFA suspended Ghoddos from all games for four months plus a €4 million fine for his failed transfer to Huesca.

On 10 November 2020, the Court of Arbitration for Sport partially upheld the ruling with the fine being removed but Östersund being banned from signing new players for the next two transfer windows.

On 21 September 2020, Ghoddos joined English Championship side Brentford on a one-year loan deal with a subsequent option for a two-year permanent deal.

He made his club debut on 1 October 2020 with an assist to Marcus Forss in an EFL Cup match against Fulham.

He scored his first goal for the club and provided an assist on 9 January 2021 in an FA Cup match against Middlesbrough.

On 14 January 2021, Ghoddos completed a permanent move to Brentford, with a contract that runs until the summer of 2023 with the option for an extra year.

He scored his first league goal for the club on 20 January 2021 against Luton Town.

In May 2021, Ghoddos and Brentford clinched promotion to the Premier League, the first top-flight appearance for the club in 74 years.

He made his Premier League debut on 21 August 2021 against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

Ghoddos scored his first goal in the Premier League on 30 October 2021 against Burnley.