Ahmed Abdelkader (footballer, born 1999)

Ahmed Abdelkader (أحمد عبدالقادر; born 19 February 1999) is a French professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Algerian side US Biskra.

Club career
Born in Brest, Abdelkader began his footballing career at the age of seven with local side Pilier-Rouge, where he played as a striker. He spent a year with professional side Stade Brestois, before moving to AS Brestoise, where he was converted to play as a goalkeeper due to his height. Having initially began training with them at the age of fourteen, Abdelkader signed with Guingamp in 2015.

After three years with Guingamp, and one appearance for the club's reserve team in the Championnat National 3, Abdelkader was released by the club. Following his release, he went on trial with English side Leicester City, but after this was unsuccessful, he moved to Cyprus, signing a three-year deal with Polis Chrysochous. In his first season, he totalled twenty-nine appearances in all competitions.

Despite signing a three-year deal with Polis Chrysochous, he returned to England after one season, joining EFL League One side Sunderland, being assigned to the club's under-23 side. On joining, he stated that signing for Sunderland was "a simple decision to make", and that he had "a great chance to progress".

At the expiration of his one-year deal with Sunderland, Abdelkader moved to Algeria, signing with Belouizdad. However, after just two seasons with the club, in which he featured in eleven games, he was linked with a loan move to JS Kabylie in August 2022.

After another full season with Belouizdad, Abdelkader moved to fellow Ligue 1 side US Biskra in September 2023. However, after only two weeks of training with his new team, he was left out of the squad for Biskra's match against Paradou AC due to issues with his registration, and returned to London, England. Abdelkader's frustration with the club grew, and in late 2023 he was absent from training for four weeks, reportedly due to issues with his contract. As Biskra did not want to sign a new goalkeeper on such short notice, Abdelkader was convinced to return to training by club officials, and he did so in early January 2024.