Ryan Dylan Merlen

Ryan Dylan Merlen is a French midfielder born in Lens on 11 May 2002. He began playing with AMS Lensoise in 2007 before joining the RC Lens academy in 2009, where he spent a decade developing and signed his first professional contract in June 2019. Merlen moved to RFC Liège in June 2022 to pursue senior football in Belgium’s third tier. He helped the club win promotion to the Challenger Pro League in his debut season. In 2023–24, he scored eight goals and supplied four assists, earning RFC Liège’s Player of the Season award. Merlen joined Belgian top-flight side Sint-Truidense, also known as STVV, on 21 June 2025. A France Under-16 call-up marked his early international involvement, before Merlen took his accumulated senior experience into Belgium’s top flight.