Manchester City have signed Ghana international Antoine Semenho from Bournemouth for around £65m.
It’s a record sale for the Cherries after City met Semenho’s release clause, which must be activated by Saturday, paying them £62.5m in 24 monthly installments plus bonuses.
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His contract runs until 2031 and he will wear the No. 42 shirt previously worn by Yaya Toure, who won three Premier League titles during his eight years at the club.
“I’m proud to join Manchester City,” said Semenho.
“They set the highest standards and it’s a club with world-class players, world-class facilities and one of the greatest coaches ever in Pep [Guardiola].
“I still have a lot of room to improve, so joining this club at this stage of my career is perfect for me. It’s a real honor to be here.”
“My best football is yet to come, I’m sure of that.”
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The 26-year-old London-born winger bid farewell to Bournemouth after scoring the stoppage-time winner in Wednesday’s 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Manchester City beat Premier League rivals Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea to sign Semenho.
“Antoine is a very exciting signing for the Football Club. He made it clear to us immediately that he wanted to join Manchester City,” director of football Hugo Viana said.
“He has great qualities. Two great feet, pace, strength, a habit of influencing games and, importantly, real room to grow and develop.
“We are always looking at players from all over the world. Antoine is the one we want most. He has proven that he can perform well in the Premier League. He is humble, hard-working, professional and completely focused on becoming a better footballer. He is the ideal choice for us.”
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Semenho has scored four goals in his last six games for the Cherries and is third on the Premier League goalscoring list this season with 10 goals in 20 games, behind new Manchester City teammate Erling Haaland (20 goals) and Brentford’s Igor Thiago (16 goals).
He needs just one more league goal to equal his previous season best, having scored 11 goals in 36 Premier League starts last term.
Bournemouth signed Semenho from Bristol City in January 2023 for around £10m and he left the Cherries after contributing 32 goals and 13 assists in 110 appearances in all competitions.
Semenho began his career in the Championship, scoring 21 goals and 21 assists in 125 games for the Robins, after loan spells at Sunderland, Newport County and non-league side Bath City.
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Semenho signed a contract extension last summer after signing a four-and-a-half-year contract with Bournemouth, which was due to expire in 2030.
