Great players usually don’t need any adjustment time in a new club. And from now on, we can say that Antoine Semenyo is of that race. While many observers cursed his departure from Bournemouth to Manchester City this winter for 75 million euros, judging it an excessive transfer, it is clear that all these critics are now unanimous: the contribution of the Ghanaian is simply exceptional.
In 5 matches in all competitions with Manchester City, Antoine Semenyo has already scored 4 goals and delivered 1 assist. In the Premier League, his performance is 2 goals in 3 games, including 1 goal this Sunday in the 2-2 draw at Tottenham. Besides, it was the 2nd time this season that he scored against the Spurs in the league, after having done it with the Cherries. He thus becomes only the second player in history to score twice against Tottenham during the same season, with two different clubs. The first is none other than Eric Cantona, who had accomplished such a feat in 1992 with Leeds and Manchester United.
Resilience
In addition, Antoine Semenyo now has 14 goals and 4 assists in 26 games in all competitions this season, between Bournemouth and Manchester City. The 26-year-old Ghanaian is today one of the best wingmen in the Premier League and in Europe. Which was not given, since the Black Star has, in its youth, been rejected by several English clubs: Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea, Millwall, Reading, Fulham. Not everyone thought it was good enough to keep.
Looking in the rearview mirror, he recently confided to Sky Sports: « Every time I was told that I wasn’t good enough. It’s hard to hear that when you’re a child. In the car, while crying, I was saying to my father: « Why did this happen to me all the time? ». Speaking to The Times, he admitted that the hardest blow had come when Crystal Palace closed the door on him. « I was just fed up. I told myself that I would become a child again, enjoy my friends, go to school, be normal.
Glowing last season in Bournemouth (13 goals, 6 assists), Antoine Semenyo is today with Manchester City, contender for the championship and Champions League titles. Ghana, who will play in the 2026 World Cup in less than six months, has a player capable of restoring the coat of arms of the Black Stars.