Sam Ling

This article is about the English footballer. For the pseudonym used by music businessman Saul Bihari, see Bihari brothers.

Samuel Jack Ling (born 17 December 1996) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for National League club Dagenham & Redbridge.

Sam Ling

Personal information
Full name	Samuel Jack Ling[1]
Date of birth	(1996-12-17) 17 December 1996 (age 28)[2]
Place of birth	Broxbourne, England
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s)	Right-back
Team information
Current team	Dagenham & Redbridge
Number	19
Youth career
2013–2016	Leyton Orient
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2016	Leyton Orient	0	(0)
2015	→ Grays Athletic (loan)	0	(0)
2016	→ Histon (loan)	7	(1)
2016–2018	Dagenham & Redbridge	40	(3)
2018–2021	Leyton Orient	80	(1)
2021–	Dagenham & Redbridge	119	(4)
International career
2018	England C	2	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:55, 16 January 2025 (UTC)

Career

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.^[4] Ling was one of a number of players to leave Dagenham due to the club's financial issues.^[5] His father, Martin, was also director of football at Orient.^[4] He made his long-awaited debut for the club on 17 February, 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.^[5] 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.^[7]

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."

Personal life

His father is Martin Ling.^[6]

Career statistics

As of match played 1 January 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Leyton Orient	2013–14[8]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2014–15[8]	League One	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2015–16[8]	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[9]	IL Premier Division	0	0	—		—		—		0	0
Histon (loan)	2015–16[10]	SL Premier Division	7	1	—		—		—		7	1
Dagenham & Redbridge	2016–17[8]	National League	11	0	1	0	—		0	0	12	0
	2017–18[8]	National League	29	3	2	0	—		1[a]	0	32	3
	Total		40	3	3	0	—		1	0	44	3
Leyton Orient	2017–18[8]	National League	13	0	0	0	—		0	0	13	0
	2018–19[8]	National League	22	1	1	0	—		4[a]	0	27	1
	2019–20[11]	League Two	15	0	1	0	0	0	2[b]	0	18	0
	2020–21[12]	League Two	30	0	0	0	1	0	3[b]	1	34	1
	Total		80	1	2	0	1	0	9	1	92	2
Dagenham & Redbridge	2021–22[13]	National League	32	2	2	0	—		3[a]	0	37	2
	2022–23[14]	National League	34	1	1	0	—		1[a]	0	36	1
	2023–24[15]	National League	40	1	0	0	—		1[a]	1	41	2
	2024–25[16]	National League	13	0	0	0	—		0	0	13	0
	Total		119	4	3	0	—		5	1	127	5
Career total			246	9	8	0	1	0	15	2	270	11

1. Appearances in FA Trophy
2. Appearances in EFL Trophy

Honours

Leyton Orient

• National League: 2018–19^[9]
• FA Trophy runner-up: 2018–19^[17]