| Sam Ling | |
| Fullname: | Samuel Jack Ling[1] |
| Birth Date: | 17 December 1996[2] |
| Birth Place: | Broxbourne, England |
| Height: | 1.75 m |
| Position: | Right-back |
| Currentclub: | Dagenham & Redbridge |
| Clubnumber: | 19 |
| Youthyears1: | 2013–2016 |
| Youthclubs1: | Leyton Orient |
| Years1: | 2013–2016 |
| Clubs1: | Leyton Orient |
| Caps1: | 0 |
| Goals1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2015 |
| Clubs2: | → Grays Athletic (loan) |
| Caps2: | 0 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2016 |
| Clubs3: | → Histon (loan) |
| Caps3: | 7 |
| Goals3: | 1 |
| Years4: | 2016–2018 |
| Clubs4: | Dagenham & Redbridge |
| Caps4: | 40 |
| Goals4: | 3 |
| Years5: | 2018–2021 |
| Clubs5: | Leyton Orient |
| Caps5: | 80 |
| Goals5: | 1 |
| Years6: | 2021– |
| Clubs6: | Dagenham & Redbridge |
| Caps6: | 108 |
| Goals6: | 4 |
| Nationalyears1: | 2018 |
| Nationalteam1: | England C |
| Nationalcaps1: | 2 |
| Nationalgoals1: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 18 August 2024 |
Samuel Jack Ling (born 17 December 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for National League club Dagenham & Redbridge.
Ling began his career at Leyton Orient, progressing through the O's academy to become Youth Team captain and also featured on the bench for the first-team a number of times.[3] He moved to Dagenham & Redbridge in 2016. On 7 February 2018, he returned to fellow National League and former club Leyton Orient for an undisclosed fee, signing a two-and-a-half-year contract. Ling was one of a number of players to leave Dagenham due to the club's financial issues.[4] His father, Martin, was also director of football at Orient.[5] He made his long-awaited debut for the club on February 17, coming on as a substitute in the second-half against Chester.[3] He scored his first goal for the club on 15 March 2019 in a 3–2 away win at Barrow.[3] He played a key role at right-back as Orient won the National League title at the end of the 2018–19 season.[4] Ling started the 2019–20 season well and was nominated for the Orient's Player of the Month award in August.[3] On 9 September 2019 he signed a new one-year extension to his contract until the summer of 2021.[6] He had been an ever-present in the side since promotion and their return to the English Football League.[6] He made his 50th appearance for the club on 21 September 2019 in a 2–1 defeat to Colchester United.[3] He made a total of 87 appearances for Orient in three and a half seasons before he was released in the summer of 2021 following the expiration of his contract.
On 9 July 2021, Ling returned to National League side Dagenham & Redbridge on a free transfer.[7] Daggers boss, Daryl McMahon, spoke of his acquisition, "He obviously comes from a good footballing family, with his dad Martin. I've known Sam since he was about five or six, from when I played for Martin at Leyton Orient. He's been at the football club before and did really well here, so we know what we're getting."
His father is Martin Ling.[6]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| 2013–14 | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Grays Athletic (loan) | 2014–15 | IL Premier Division | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Histon (loan) | 2015–16[8] | SL Premier Division | 7 | 1 | — | — | — | 7 | 1 | ||||
| 2016–17 | National League | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |||
| 2017–18 | National League | 29 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | 1[9] | 0 | 32 | 3 | |||
| Total | 40 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 44 | 3 | ||||
| Leyton Orient | 2017–18 | National League | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | National League | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | 27 | 1 | |||
| 2019–20 | League Two | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[10] | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | League Two | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[11] | 1 | 34 | 1 | ||
| Total | 80 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 92 | 2 | |||
| Dagenham & Redbridge | 2021–22 | National League | 32 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | 37 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | National League | 34 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 36 | 1 | |||
| 2023–24 | National League | 40 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | 41 | 2 | |||
| 2024–25 | National League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 108 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | 5 | 1 | 116 | 5 | ||||
| Career total | 235 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 259 | 11 | |||
Leyton Orient
2018–19[12]