Just a week ago, Manchester City paid 75 million euros to acquire Antoine Semenho from AFC Bournemouth. Antoine – who? In Germany, only die-hard Premier League fans knew Semenho’s qualities before.
His name subsequently made global headlines as the most expensive transfer of the current winter window, and the striker has quickly made a fantastic start to life for the Sky Blues. It’s the temporary high point of a remarkable career path that is slowly but surely starting to get on Erling Haaland’s nerves.
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the end of the beginning
Larry Semenio only had to shake his head to know: My son’s dream would end here, too. His 15-year-old son had just missed a chance to score in a qualifying match at Crystal Palace. The coach’s disapproval did not escape the former pro’s trained eye. He was right—after the game, the Eagles, who Antoine had been training with for two weeks, turned him down as well.
Trials with Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham are over and should be over now. By his own account, he gained weight the next year without doing any exercise at all.
The devout Christian focused on his studies during this time, but soon he felt his feet were itching again. Shortly thereafter, the teenager joined the football program at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, where he caught the attention of David Hockaday. The Englishman had played professionally himself and took the pudgy boy under his wing.
📸 Pete Norton – 2019 Getty Images
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He encouraged Semenho to believe in his own strengths. You see, as his confidence grew, so did the 1.85-meter-tall man’s stature. The self-proclaimed late bloomer got his chance at Bristol City at the age of 18, and after initial difficulties and several loan spells, he finally made his breakthrough in the 2021/22 season.
Eight goals and 12 assists earned the Ghana international a World Cup nomination and attracted interest from AFC Bournemouth. The Cherries surged for almost 10 million euros that same winter, convinced by Semenho’s exciting profile in particular.
errors as features
Because in addition to his clever use of physical attributes and lightning-fast acceleration, the attacker has impressed people with his two-footed ability since childhood. “My dad used to make me kick anything with both feet, whether it was paper, cans or anything else. By the age of six I could already shoot with both feet. Today, it feels completely natural,” he once told Sky News, describing a quality that made him unpredictable for opposing defenders.
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Furthermore, his successful playing style has one feature that should actually be a flaw: Semenho learned to play outside of a Premier League academy. “Antoine is different. He basically comes in through the back door. He’s able to develop step by step,” Semenho’s coach at Bristol City, Dean Holden, recently explained on Sky, revealing the secret to his former protégé’s success.
The bumpy road made him a hardworking man. Before each season, the Manchester City new signing writes down how many goal contributions he wants to achieve in the coming season and is constantly looking for situations that need improvement in his video analysis.
(not) another false start
Year after year the determination paid off. Because Semenho’s first season at Bournemouth was also bumpy. In the first half of the year after the transfer, he only scored one goal. He came off the bench most of the time and even completely lost touch with the team at the end of the season.
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But just as he did at Bristol, the versatile forward showed resilience and worked hard on his game. Since the start of the 2023/2024 season, his status curve has risen sharply. After 11 Premier League goal contributions, 17 in 2024/2025, and before the start of 2026 already has 12 goals in his tally. Manchester City have seen enough and are known to have dug deep into the pockets of their wealthy owners.
An investment that pays off immediately. Because Semenho simply picked up where he left off in his last game at Bournemouth: he led his team to victory. After the first two games, the new signing has scored two goals and one assist.
For now, Haaland can still laugh about it
Today is the city derby against Manchester United, a duel where heroes are born. Whoever performs well in such games will receive football’s highest honor. Of course, Norway’s goal-scoring machine Erling Haaland is also watching – and increasingly sees his new team-mate as a serious competitor.
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Semenho is on the verge of scoring twice against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday. But Haaland “prevented” his second goal as he was almost offside when blocking his strike partner’s shot. The former Borussia Dortmund player later humorously commented on the scene in a club media video: “Semenho wanted to steal my golden boot and he didn’t pass the ball to me!”
Haaland doesn’t have to really feel threatened just yet. With 20 goals, he is comfortably ahead in the race for the Premier League top scorer award, while Semenho only managed 10 goals. But the pursuer responded to the leader’s “accusation” quite seriously: “I will do it.” Maybe he will start today – and then Haaland’s laughter may slowly but surely disappear.
This article was translated into English by artificial intelligence. You can read the original version of 🇩🇪 here.
📸 OLI SCARFF – AFP or licensor
