Morgan Stéphane Sanson (born 18 August 1994) is a French 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 lea ...

who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

club

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million Saint-Doulchard Saint-Doulchard () is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France along the banks of the Yèvre and the canal de Berry, immediately west of Bourges. Population Notable people * Philippe-Ernest Legrand, F ...

, Cher.

Club career

Le Mans

Ahead of the 2012–13 season, Sanson was promoted to the senior team by

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Denis Zanko and assigned the number 25 shirt. He made his professional debut on 3 August 2012 in a league match against

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

, replacing

Idrissa Sylla Idrissa Sylla (born 3 December 1990) is a Guinean professional footballer who plays as a forward for French club Saint-Pryvé Saint-Hilaire and the Guinea national team. He is also referred to as Waddle due to him possessing a similar style o ...

with only ten minutes to play. He scored his first league goal on 22 December 2012 against

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

in a 2–3 home loss.

Montpellier

On 12 June 2013, Sanson signed a four-year contract with

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

for a reported fee of €700,000. He made his debut for the club on 14 September 2013, in a 0–0 draw against

Stade de Reims Stade de Reims () is a French professional football club based in Reims. The club was formed in 1931 and plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of football in France. Reims plays home matches at the Stade Auguste Delaune. Reims is one of the mo ...

Marseille

On 17 January 2017, Sanson joined south coast rivals

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

by signing a four-and-a-half-year contract, for an initial fee estimated to be €9 million, plus €3 million in bonuses. On 5 March 2017, he scored a goal in the 56th minute in a 4–1 Ligue 1 away win against

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

, his first Ligue 1 goal for Marseille. On 3 May 2018, he played in the Europa League semi-finals away to

FC Red Bull Salzburg Fußballclub Red Bull Salzburg, commonly known as simply Red Bull Salzburg, is an Austrian professional Association football, football club based in Wals-Siezenheim, that competes in the Austrian Bundesliga, the top flight of Football in Austria ...

as Marseille played out a 1–2 away loss but a 3–2 aggregate win to secure a place in the 2018 UEFA Europa League Final which was played at the

Parc Olympique Lyonnais Parc Olympique Lyonnais, known for sponsorship reasons as Groupama Stadium, is a 59,186-seat stadium in Décines-Charpieu, in the Metropolis of Lyon. The home of French football club Olympique Lyonnais (OL), it replaced their previous stadium, ...

, and saw his team lose to

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

Aston Villa

On 26 January 2021, Sanson signed for English

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

on a -year contract, for a fee believed to be £14 million, with £1.5 million in add-ons. On 3 February 2021, Sanson made his Aston Villa debut as a late substitute in a 3–1 defeat to

West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...

Villa Park Villa Park is a association football, football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, with a seating capacity of 42,918. It has been the home of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witt ...

. On 4 April 2021, Sanson suffered a knee injury midway through the second half in a 3–1 victory over

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

which ended his season prematurely. On 31 August 2021, Sanson made his return from injury as one of the permitted overage players for Aston Villa U21s, in a 3–1 victory over

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...

in the

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

. On 22 September 2021, Sanson returned to the first team in an

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

tie against Chelsea – but he was forced to leave the field before half time after a recurrence of his injury. The arrival of

Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and a former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players,Unai Emery Unai Emery Etxegoien (born 3 November 1971) is a Spanish Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player who is the manager of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa. He is widely regarded as o ...

's first match for Villa, on 6 November 2022, Sanson made his first appearance of the 2022–23 campaign, coming on as a substitute in the 90th minute as Villa defeated Manchester United 3–1. On 8 January 2023, Sanson scored his first goal for Aston Villa in a 2–1 defeat to lower league

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevenage w ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

Strasbourg loan

On 23 January 2023, Sanson joined

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

on loan until the end of the current season.

Nice

On 24 July 2023, Sanson joined

OGC Nice Olympique Gymnaste Club de Nice (), commonly referred to as OGC Nice or simply Nice, is a French professional association football, football club based in Nice. The club was founded in 1904 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the top tier of Footb ...

on a season-long loan. On 15 May 2024, it was announced that Nice had made the loan transfer a permanent one.

International career

Sanson is a France youth international having represented his nation at under-19 and under-21 level.

Career statistics

Honours

Marseille *

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

runner-up: 2017–18

References

External links

Profile
at the OGC Nice website * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanson, Morgan 1994 births Living people Footballers from Cher (department) French men's footballers France men's youth international footballers France men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football midfielders Le Mans FC players Montpellier HSC players Olympique de Marseille players Aston Villa F.C. players Ligue 2 players Ligue 1 players Premier League players French expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England French expatriate sportspeople in England RC Strasbourg Alsace players OGC Nice players 21st-century French sportsmen