Antoine Semenyo is a man in demand
Bournemouth are continuously being raided by some of the best clubs in Europe for their players.
By Sam McGuire
During the summer transfer window, they lost Milos Kerkez to Premier League champions Liverpool, Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain signed Illia Zabarnyi while Real Madrid won the race for Dean Huijsen amid interest from the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. During the 2024 summer transfer window, the Cherries lost Dom Solanke to Spurs in what was a club record sale.
They simply go about unearthing new stars and entrusting Andoni Iraola to develop them. It’s why, despite such a huge turnover in personnel this summer, the Cherries are eighth in the Premier League, just two points off of a top four place and four points behind second-placed Chelsea.
You can’t just credit one player with being responsible for this impressive start to the campaign, but if you did have to single out someone this season, it’d be Antoine Semenyo.
His early season form has seen him alert a number of the Premier League big boys.
Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Spurs and Manchester United are all reportedly keen on the Bournemouth No. 24.
He’s started the campaign like a player who believes he’s ready to make that next step.
Semenyo has six goals and three assists across his 11 appearances. Only Erling Haaland (15) has more goal involvements in the Premier League this season and only three players have more goals than the Bournemouth man (six) – Danny Welbeck (seven), Igor Thiago (nine) and Haaland (14).
The former Bristol City winger has decent underlying numbers too, highlighting how much of a threat he is. At the time of writing, he ranks sixth for Expected Goals.
In many ways, this explosive start to the campaign shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise. Ever since the move to Bournemouth in January 2023, he’s been slowly scaling his threat.
During the 2023/24 Premier League campaign, his first full season in the English top-flight, he scored eight goals. Last term, he racked up 16 goal involvements in total. He’s on course to finish with a career high haul for the third successive year.
It is quite remarkable that prior to the switch to Bournemouth, his career best was eight goals in the Championship. While always looking dangerous due to his profile, there weren’t really any clear signs that he’d make the leap from goal threat to goal scorer.
He’s done just that though. And while, at first glance, the new contract in the summer was reward for his fine form, it was, in fact, more than that for the 25-year-old. Reports have recently emerged which revealed the versatile forward only signed an extension with the Cherries because it included a release clause.
Teams can sign him during the winter window for £65million. At the end of the season, the release clause drops.
That fee might seem a little steep but in the current market, clubs might actually be able to justify it. For starters, he’s extremely versatile and can play anywhere across the forward line. He doesn’t just do a job on either flank. He performs as well on the left as he does on the right due to his two-footed nature.
Though primarily right-footed, he’s not shy when it comes to using his left. In fact, his six goals this term are split perfectly between left and right-footed goals. Last season, he struck six on his right and five with his left. He’s as two-footed as you can be.
Semenyo also qualifies as a homegrown player under Premier League rules, a key element to consider when assembling a squad. In terms of profile, he’s fairly unique right now.
Semenyo is pace and power. He’s robust, aggressive and direct. A lot of the time now, due to the modern way of playing, attackers want ball to feet and they want to drop to receive possession. The Bournemouth star is the opposite of that. He’ll fight for direct balls played forward. He’ll put himself about and chase lost causes. He’ll also pick up possession and just carry the ball forward, regardless of whether there’s space ahead of him or an opponent.
The 25-year-old is an outball. He’s a pressure reliever.
He posts decent numbers when looking at successful dribbles (1.91 this term and 1.94 last season), duels won (over six since the start of 2024/25) and aerial duels won (over 2.3 this season). Not only can Semenyo carry the ball, he can also win it back for you too. Combine that with his goal threat – 0.42 xG90 this season and 0.28 last term – and you have a forward who is a genuine handful.
The Ghana international likely going to be the next Bournemouth export. He might be the best of the bunch.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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