Antoine Selorm Semenyo — born January 7, 2000, in London, England, to Ghanaian parents — is a 26-year-old professional winger who plays for Manchester City in the Premier League and the Ghana national team, wearing the number 42 shirt, having signed a five-and-a-half-year contract worth £64 million from AFC Bournemouth on January 9, 2026, on a deal running to June 2031. He stands 1.85 metres tall (6 feet 1 inch), weighs 79 kilograms, is right-footed, and holds both British and Ghanaian citizenship. In the 2025-26 Premier League season he has scored 15 goals and contributed 4 assists across 2,514 minutes — placing him third in the Premier League scoring chart behind only Erling Haaland (22 goals) and Igor Thiago (18 goals) as of March 5, 2026, per YEN.com.gh’s verified data — with a FotMob average rating of 7.44, scoring highly on Goals, Minutes and Rating compared to left wingers in the competition. Since joining City, he has scored 7 goals in just 12 appearances, becoming the first Manchester City player to score in each of his first two appearances since August 2009. His next match is Manchester City vs Real Madrid in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg at the Santiago Bernabéu on March 11, 2026 — which will be his Champions League debut. His career has been defined by repeated rejection — trials failed at Arsenal, Tottenham, Millwall, and Crystal Palace before he turned 16 — and a transformative breakthrough that has made him one of the most feared wingers in English football. This complete guide covers his full biography, every step from South Gloucestershire College to Old Trafford and the Etihad, his £64 million transfer, his 2025-26 performances, his Ghana international career, his family, his engagement, and everything you need to know about watching him live.
Who Is Antoine Semenyo?
Antoine Selorm Semenyo was born on January 7, 2000, in London, England — his full middle name Selorm a Ghanaian Ewe name meaning “God has been good to me,” a piece of biographical detail that carries a resonance given the specific way his career has unfolded from rejection to Premier League stardom. His parents are Ghanaian — his father Larry Semenyo previously played professionally in Ghana, giving the family a direct professional football connection that preceded Antoine’s own development — and he also holds French citizenship through his mother, making him eligible for the French national team, though he has consistently represented Ghana at international level. He has a younger brother, Jai Semenyo, who is also a professional footballer, currently playing for FC Lorient B in Championnat National 2 — the fourth tier of French football. The footballing family tradition runs from Larry to both sons simultaneously.
He grew up in the south of England — raised with a specific football culture shaped by the London clubs that subsequently rejected him — and developed his initial football education through grassroots football before being identified as a potential professional by scouts from Birmingham City, Crystal Palace, and Bristol City. His English identity is as fundamental as his Ghanaian heritage: he was born here, raised here, plays his club football here, and has spent his entire professional career in the English football system from League Two to the Premier League. The decision to represent Ghana rather than England internationally was conscious and considered — reflecting his pride in his parents’ Ghanaian heritage and the specific invitation from Ghana’s national team management to be part of the Black Stars generation.
On November 18, 2025, Semenyo proposed to his long-time girlfriend Jordeen Buckley — a personal milestone in the same autumn that his Bournemouth performances were generating the Premier League attention that would lead to the Manchester City transfer. They are not yet married as of March 2026, but the engagement represents a personal commitment made in the middle of the most professionally consequential period of his career.
The Family Footballing Tradition
The Semenyo family’s football connection — from Larry Semenyo’s professional career in Ghana to Antoine’s Premier League rise to Jai’s professional career in France — is an unusual three-generation, two-continent football story. Larry Semenyo, Antoine’s father, is specifically identified in biographical sources as a former professional footballer in Ghana, providing the direct paternal influence on Antoine’s footballing ambitions and likely the specific technical coaching in his early development that is not formally recorded in his academy history but was clearly present given the level he has reached. His mother’s French citizenship also explains Jai’s presence in the French football pyramid with FC Lorient B — the younger brother pursuing his own professional career in the French lower divisions while his brother plays for Manchester City and represents Ghana at international level.
The Rejection Years: Trials, Setbacks, and a Turning Point
Trials at Arsenal, Tottenham, Millwall, Crystal Palace
Antoine Semenyo’s path to professional football is defined by one of the most extensive rejection narratives in recent English football history. He had unsuccessful trials at Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur — two of London’s biggest clubs, whose academies receive hundreds of trialists annually and whose rejection tells a player very little about their ultimate ceiling, given the number of eventual professional and elite players who have been cut from those systems at similar ages. He also had unsuccessful trials at Millwall — a South London club whose academy is known for physical assessment alongside technical quality — and underwent an eight-week trial at Crystal Palace, the Croydon-based club, before being rejected at the age of 15. Four rejections, the longest lasting eight weeks, before turning 16.
The Crystal Palace rejection — the most extended of the trials and therefore arguably the most damaging psychologically — nearly ended his football ambitions entirely. Wikipedia’s confirmed account states: “He initially decided to give up on becoming a professional footballer before Dave Hockaday convinced him to join his youth academy program at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College.” The specific role of Dave Hockaday — a former professional football manager (Leeds United, AFC Wimbledon) who established a youth academy programme at SG&S College in Stoke Gifford, near Bristol — is the single most important interventional moment in Semenyo’s career, because without it, a player who has now scored 65 career goals and been sold for £64 million would likely have left professional football at fifteen.
South Gloucestershire and Stroud College
Dave Hockaday’s youth academy at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College was the bridge between Semenyo’s near-exit from football and his eventual arrival in Bristol City’s academy. The College — a further education institution in the Greater Bristol area — runs a dual football and education programme for young players who need both qualifications and football development, and is one of several similar institutions in English football’s talent pipeline that catch players who have been released by professional academies but still have the quality to develop into professionals given the right environment.
The specific details of how Hockaday identified and persuaded Semenyo to continue are not extensively documented, but the result — Semenyo arriving at Bristol City’s academy in 2017 — confirms that the college programme provided a technical and psychological environment that re-engaged a young player who had essentially given up. His subsequent development there attracted interest from Birmingham City, Crystal Palace (who had rejected him at fifteen), and Bristol City — the eventual winner of that competition signing him to their academy in 2017.
Bristol City: First Professional Contract (2017–2023)
Bath City Loan and the First Goals
Antoine Semenyo signed his first professional contract with Bristol City in January 2018 and was immediately loaned to Bath City — a National League South club operating four divisions below the Premier League. Bath City gave him his first taste of senior competitive football: he scored six goals from 16 appearances in the National League South before returning to Bristol City. Six goals from 16 appearances as a late-starting academy player making his senior debut is a productive record by any measure, and it confirmed that the goalscoring ability — subsequently the defining statistical feature of his career — was present from his very first senior minutes.
He was loaned to Newport County on July 18, 2018 — an EFL League Two club in Wales, managed by Michael Flynn — for a season-long spell that proved to be one of the most formative periods of his professional education. At Newport, he underwent the most significant tactical transformation of his career to date: shifting from his original position of striker to winger. The Welsh club’s coaching staff identified that Semenyo’s pace and direct running could be more effectively deployed from a wide position where he had space to accelerate into rather than from a central striking role where his movement in tight spaces was more limited. This transformation — from striker to winger — is the positional change that made him the player Manchester City paid £64 million for.
Newport County and the Leicester FA Cup Giant-Killing
At Newport County, Semenyo made 32 appearances in all competitions — his first extended run of senior football at a professional club competing in the English Football League. The specific highlight of his Newport career came on January 6, 2019, when he played the full 90 minutes as Newport knocked Leicester City out of the FA Cup in the third round with a 2-1 victory. Leicester City were a Premier League club managed by Claude Puel at the time; Newport were in League Two, the fourth tier. The giant-killing result — one of the more celebrated FA Cup upsets of the 2018-19 season — placed Semenyo in a context where he was competing against Premier League-standard defenders and acquitting himself well.
He also played the full 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw at Championship club Middlesbrough on January 26, 2019 — another fixture against higher-division opposition in the same FA Cup run, confirming his ability to operate effectively against significantly better-resourced opposition. He was recalled by Bristol City on January 27, 2019, after 32 Newport appearances — a recall that reflected Bristol City’s assessment that his development had reached a level where their first-team environment was now appropriate.
The Sunderland Loan and COVID Interruption
On January 31, 2020, Semenyo joined Sunderland — then in EFL League One, managed by Phil Parkinson — on loan for the remainder of the 2019-20 season. He made seven appearances for Sunderland without scoring, with his only start coming in his final appearance at Bristol Rovers on March 10, 2020. The season was curtailed shortly afterward by the COVID-19 pandemic — a global interruption that ended the 2019-20 season prematurely across all English football divisions and returned Semenyo to Bristol City without the extended League One run he had been seeking.
The Sunderland loan’s significance in his development story is limited by the brevity of his involvement, but it added League One experience to his League Two and National League South appearances and confirmed his continued progression through the English football system. His return to Bristol City for the 2020-21 season was the beginning of the genuine Championship breakthrough.
The Bristol City Championship Breakthrough
The 2020-21 Championship season was Semenyo’s first as a consistent first-team presence at Bristol City — making 44 appearances across all competitions in his most extensive single-season involvement to that point. He won the Bristol City Young Player of the Year award for the 2020-21 season, confirming the club’s internal recognition that his level of development justified the award. The following season — 2021-22 — was his statistical peak at the Championship level: eight goals and 12 assists in 31 Championship appearances, a combined involvement in 20 Championship goals that is exceptional for a winger at this level. He won the EFL Championship Player of the Month award for January 2022 — a monthly award voted by a panel that recognises the best performance in the division over the calendar month — confirming his standing beyond Bristol City’s own assessment.
His contract with Bristol City was initially extended and he signed a new four-year deal with the club before the Bournemouth interest developed. His six goals and three assists in the 2022-23 Championship season before his January 2023 departure confirmed he was ready for the Premier League.
AFC Bournemouth: The Premier League Arrival (January 2023–January 2026)
The £10 Million Transfer to the Cherries
Antoine Semenyo completed a £10 million transfer to AFC Bournemouth — then managed by Gary O’Neil — on January 27, 2023, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract. The fee represented the largest sale Bristol City had made in that period and confirmed Bournemouth’s specific assessment that Semenyo had the pace, directness, and goalscoring ability to make the step from Championship winger to Premier League wide forward. He joined Bournemouth with the club established in the Premier League for 2022-23 following their Championship title win the previous season.
His Bournemouth career began slowly — one Premier League goal in eleven appearances across the second half of 2022-23 — as he adapted to the higher defensive quality, tactical complexity, and physical intensity of the Premier League. His first full Premier League season, 2023-24, was significantly better: eight goals and two assists in 33 appearances, establishing him as a genuine Premier League winger and confirming Bournemouth’s investment. His arrival at Bournemouth coincided with a period of genuine attacking ambition from the club, who have progressively built a squad capable of comfortably surviving in the Premier League rather than merely battling relegation.
On July 8, 2024, he signed a new contract with Bournemouth until 2029 — an extension that reflected the mutual confidence between player and club after his 2023-24 performances. The contract extension came shortly before his 2024-25 season, which was his most productive before the Manchester City move.
The 2024-25 Season: Career Best
The 2024-25 Premier League season was the best of Antoine Semenyo’s career to that point: 11 Premier League goals, 37 league appearances, and performances that placed him as one of the division’s most consistent and threatening wide forwards. His specific highlights of 2024-25 included: an 86th-minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest on August 17, 2024 — his first goal of the season; Bournemouth’s first goal of a 3-2 comeback win over Everton at Goodison Park in late August; a goal in Bournemouth’s 2-1 win over Premier League champions Manchester City at Dean Court on November 2, 2024, ending City’s eleven-month unbeaten run in the Premier League; his fifth goal of the season in a 3-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford on December 22; the fifth goal of Bournemouth’s 5-0 demolition of Nottingham Forest on January 25, 2025; and his tenth league goal of the season on April 14 in a 1-0 win over Fulham. Eleven league goals from 37 appearances, combined with five assists from Soccerway data, represents a goal involvement every 2.8 matches — consistently above the standard required to generate top-six interest.
His contract extension to 2029 — signed in July 2024 — provided Bournemouth with leverage in any transfer negotiation and reflected their confidence that Semenyo’s market value would continue to rise. They were correct: the £64 million City paid represents a 540% return on the £10 million Bournemouth paid Bristol City just three years earlier.
The Farewell Goal on His Birthday
January 7, 2026, was Antoine Semenyo’s 26th birthday. Bournemouth were playing Tottenham Hotspur at the Vitality Stadium, in the middle of an eleven-match winless run that had created significant pressure on the club’s Premier League position. Having been strongly linked with Manchester City in the January transfer window throughout the week, Semenyo scored in the last minute — a 3-2 winner against Spurs — in what was confirmed as his final appearance for the club. Scoring a last-minute winner on his birthday, in his final match, ending an eleven-game winless run: the perfect Bournemouth farewell, and one whose timing and drama is hard to surpass as a valedictory moment for a player of three years’ service at the club.
The Manchester City announcement came two days later, on January 9, 2026.
Manchester City: The £64 Million January Signing
Transfer Announcement and Contract Terms
Manchester City announced the signing of Antoine Semenyo from AFC Bournemouth on January 9, 2026 — nine days into the January transfer window — for a reported fee of £64 million (€72 million, as confirmed by Soccerway’s transfer records). He signed a five-and-a-half-year contract to June 2031, wearing squad number 42 at the Etihad Stadium. The transfer made him one of the most expensive Ghanaian footballers in history and one of the most expensive January transfers in Premier League history.
City’s Director of Football Hugo Viana confirmed the reasoning: “He made it clear to us immediately that it was City he wanted to join. His enthusiasm for this football club has been clear throughout the process. He has huge quality. Two great feet, pace, power, a habit of influencing games and, importantly, real room for growth and development. I am excited to see the player Antoine can become in the weeks, months and years ahead. We are constantly watching players all over the world. Antoine was the one we most wanted.” The specific detail — “he made it clear to us immediately that it was City he wanted” — confirms that despite the reported interest from other clubs, Semenyo chose City specifically. His signing statement emphasised the Guardiola era’s achievements: “I have watched City over the last decade under Pep Guardiola, and they have been the dominant team in the Premier League as well as achieving amazing things in the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup.”
He joined a City squad that had already completed the 2025 summer window with five signings totalling £112 million (Aït-Nouri, Reijnders, Cherki, Bettinelli, Trafford), making Semenyo the sixth major signing of the 2025-26 recruitment cycle.
Debut: Goal and Assist in 10-1 Win
Antoine Semenyo made his Manchester City debut on January 10, 2026 — one day after his transfer was confirmed — in an FA Cup third-round match at the Etihad Stadium against Exeter City, a League One club. The match ended 10-1 to City, an emphatic scoreline that gave Semenyo the perfect low-pressure debut environment to make an immediate statistical contribution. He scored a goal and provided an assist — goal involvement in both directions in his very first competitive appearance for the club — confirming the form and confidence he brought directly from the Bournemouth farewell game three days earlier.
His immediate goal contribution meant City fans heard the Spandau Ballet “Gold” chant — which City supporters had adopted to honour him, the song’s lyrics altered to celebrate his name — in his very first match. This adoption of a specific crowd song within one match of arrival is a rare level of early supporter enthusiasm that reflects both the quality of the debut and the specific excitement surrounding his capture.
The EFL Cup Semi-Final: Scoring at St. James’ Park
On January 13, 2026 — just three days after his debut — Antoine Semenyo scored the opening goal in a 2-0 away win at St. James’ Park in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final against Newcastle United. The goal was described by ESPN’s assessment as “a tap-in from six inches” — not the most aesthetically impressive of his career — but the specific context gave it outsized importance: City had been struggling with injuries and needed the result to establish the platform for the second-leg aggregate win. Guardiola commented post-match: “We know Bournemouth did an incredible job with him, and every time the ball arrives to him, he always is there.” ESPN noted that “he became the first Man City player to score in both of his first two appearances since August 2009.”
City went on to win the EFL Cup semi-final 5-1 on aggregate and qualify for the 2026 EFL Cup final against Arsenal on March 22. Semenyo’s contribution to securing that final place — scored in the first leg at St. James’ Park — was the decisive early goal that settled City’s nerves in the most pressurised fixture he had faced in his first week at the club.
Man City 2025-26: Performances and Statistics
15 Premier League Goals: Third in the Scoring Charts
Antoine Semenyo’s Premier League statistics in 2025-26 combine two spells — 20 appearances for Bournemouth (10 goals, 3 assists) and 5 appearances for Manchester City (5 goals, 1 assist) for a season total of 15 Premier League goals and 4 assists across 2,514 minutes. This places him third in the Premier League scoring chart as of March 5, 2026 — behind only Erling Haaland (22) and Igor Thiago (18) — and confirms him as one of the most prolific wide forwards in the division in 2025-26. FotMob confirms: “Semenyo scores highly on Goals, Minutes and Rating compared to left wingers in the Premier League.” His 7.44 average rating is among the best for wide players in the division.
His combined 2025-26 season from Soccerway: Bournemouth (20 apps, 10 goals, 3 assists, 7.0 rating) and Manchester City (5 apps, 5 goals, 1 assist, 7.0 rating) — 25 total appearances, 15 goals, 4 assists. His career total stands at 65 goals across all competitions as of early 2026. The Bournemouth highlights before the City move included a brace at Liverpool — one of the standout individual performance results of the first half of the season — and the last-minute winner against Tottenham on his birthday.
At Manchester City, his five Premier League goals have come against Wolverhampton Wanderers (first City PL goal, January 24, 2026, in a 2-0 win) and in subsequent fixtures through to March 4, 2026. The Manchester City official announcement confirmed his 10 Bournemouth Premier League goals as of the January 9 signing date.
7 Goals in 12 Manchester City Appearances
From his debut on January 10, 2026 to March 10, 2026, Antoine Semenyo has scored seven goals in twelve Manchester City appearances across all competitions — FA Cup, EFL Cup, Premier League, and Champions League qualifying. This goal-per-game ratio (0.58 goals per appearance) at a club competing across four competitions simultaneously is exceptional by any standard and directly undermines the fears expressed by Ghanaian fans at the time of his signing that he would struggle for minutes in a Guardiola squad of extraordinary attacking depth.
The specific goal breakdown: FA Cup debut vs Exeter City (1 goal + 1 assist, January 10); EFL Cup semi-final vs Newcastle United (1 goal, January 13); Premier League vs Wolverhampton Wanderers (January 24, 1 goal); followed by further Premier League and cup goals in subsequent fixtures through March 4. His record of scoring in every competition he has featured in for City since arriving is the specific statistical fact that confirms he has not merely hit the ground running in low-pressure cup matches but has transferred his Bournemouth form to the highest-stakes Premier League environment.
WhoScored Player Profile
WhoScored’s player profile for Semenyo at Manchester City confirms his shirt number 42, height 185cm, and lists his strengths as: finishing (strong), long shots (strong), direct free kicks (strong), aerial duels (strong), and dribbling (strong). His weaknesses are identified as: offside awareness (very weak), holding on to the ball (weak), and crossing (weak). His style traits are: likes to cut inside, commits fouls often. His WhoScored ratings across the 2025-26 Premier League season show a progression from 7.26 (Bournemouth average) to 7.57 (recent City average), confirming that his individual performance level has been even higher at City than at Bournemouth.
Champions League Debut: Real Madrid on March 11
A Personal Milestone at the Bernabéu
March 11, 2026 will be Antoine Semenyo’s Champions League debut — his first-ever competitive match in UEFA’s premier club competition. He has competed in the Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, Championship, League One, League Two, and various Africa Cup of Nations competitions, but never in the Champions League. The stage for his debut is the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid — one of European football’s most storied venues — against Real Madrid in the Champions League Round of 16 first leg.
YEN.com.gh’s analysis captures the biographical significance: “This will mark Antoine Semenyo’s Champions League debut. The 26-year-old’s journey from the lower divisions of English football to Bournemouth and now to Manchester City reads like a script. Stepping onto the Bernabeu turf for the first time could be the defining chapter so far. Since arriving at City, he has scored in every competition he has featured in. Confidence will not be in short supply. Should he find the net against the Spanish giants, he would join a select group of five Ghanaian players who have scored in this tournament.”
His place in City’s predicted lineup for the first leg features him on the right flank of the 4-2-3-1 formation — alongside Bernardo Silva (central attacking midfield) and Rayan Cherki (left flank) in the three behind Erling Haaland. His pace and directness make him particularly threatening against Real Madrid’s left-back position, and the opportunity to score in the Champions League for the first time, at the Bernabéu, in what the YEN.com.gh analysis describes as a “defining chapter” of his career story, is exactly the type of high-stakes moment that his seven goals in twelve City appearances have confirmed he is capable of delivering in.
Ghana International Career
First Call-Up and World Cup 2022
Antoine Semenyo was called up to the Ghana national team on May 26, 2022 — a call-up that required him to choose Ghana over England (eligible through birth) and France (eligible through his mother). His senior debut for the Black Stars came on June 1, 2022, in a 3-0 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification win over Madagascar — his first international goal following in subsequent AFCON qualifying matches. He scored a stoppage-time winner against Angola in AFCON qualification — described by The Afri Post as “a dramatic stoppage-time winner” that was one of the more celebrated individual international moments of his Ghana career.
On November 14, 2022, he was included in Ghana’s 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar — the first World Cup of his career, at age 22. He made two World Cup appearances for Ghana in Qatar, with a 6.0 Soccerway rating, as Ghana competed in a group with Portugal, Uruguay, and South Korea. Ghana did not advance from the group stage, but Semenyo’s World Cup involvement at 22 — combined with the simultaneous Bristol City Championship form that would lead to the Bournemouth transfer the following January — confirmed that his progression at club and international level was simultaneous and rapid.
He participated in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) — three appearances, 0 goals, 6.0 Soccerway rating — and in AFCON qualification in 2025. His Ghana career total as of early 2026: 32 senior caps, 3 goals, 1 assist (Soccerway data). He is among five Ghanaian players considered almost certain to make Ghana’s 2026 World Cup squad under manager Otto Addo, according to YEN.com.gh reporting from March 2026.
The 2026 World Cup Target
The 2026 FIFA World Cup — hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico from June 2026 — is the specific international target that makes Semenyo’s spring 2026 form doubly significant: his 15 Premier League goals and seven goals in twelve City appearances are the case he is building for both greater involvement at Manchester City and automatic selection in Ghana’s 26-man World Cup squad. Ghana qualified for the 2026 World Cup through their African qualifying campaign.
Semenyo’s role in Ghana’s attack — competing with other Ghanaian forwards across European clubs — places him as one of the Black Stars’ most high-profile players by club affiliation: playing for Manchester City is a statement of quality that makes his selection essentially guaranteed if he is fit and in form. His Champions League debut against Real Madrid on March 11, and any goals he scores in that fixture, will further elevate his profile in the context of a World Cup summer three months away.
Practical Guide: Watching Semenyo at the Etihad
Etihad Stadium: Tickets and Access
Antoine Semenyo plays his Manchester City home matches at the Etihad Stadium — located on Etihad Campus, Ashton New Road, Beswick, Manchester, M11 3FF — a stadium with a current capacity of 53,400. Tickets for Premier League home matches are available at mancity.com, with prices ranging from approximately £35 for Category C fixtures to £85 for Category A Premium matches. Season tickets range from approximately £299 to over £600 depending on position — most areas are sold out for 2025-26, but general sale windows open for specific fixtures throughout the season. Semenyo wears squad number 42 and his name-and-number shirt is available in the City Store at the stadium and online at shop.mancity.com.
The Etihad Stadium is accessible by Metrolink tram — the Etihad Campus stop on the Ashton-under-Lyne line is approximately 12-15 minutes from Manchester Piccadilly on matchday services. Arriving 60-90 minutes before kick-off is recommended for high-profile league and European matches. The City of Manchester Stadium Experience — the official stadium tour including dressing rooms, tunnel, pitch side, and trophy cabinet — is available on non-matchday dates at approximately £20-25 for adults, bookable through mancity.com.
How to Watch Manchester City on TV
All Manchester City Premier League matches in 2025-26 are broadcast in the UK on Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Sports Main Event (from approximately £22 per month as part of a Sky package), and Amazon Prime Video for the specific allocation of matches. The Champions League Round of 16 first leg against Real Madrid on March 11, 2026 (kick-off 8:00pm GMT at the Santiago Bernabéu) is broadcast exclusively on TNT Sports in the UK — available through BT TV, discovery+, Sky, and Virgin Media from approximately £30 per month for a standalone discovery+ subscription. The EFL Cup final against Arsenal on March 22 at Wembley is on Sky Sports. Live statistics, FotMob ratings, and real-time performance data are available at fotmob.com and sofascore.com for every Semenyo appearance.
FAQs
Who is Antoine Semenyo?
Antoine Semenyo is a 26-year-old Ghanaian professional winger who plays for Manchester City in the Premier League, having signed from Bournemouth for £64 million on January 9, 2026. Born January 7, 2000, in London to Ghanaian parents, he wears the number 42 shirt at the Etihad Stadium on a five-and-a-half-year contract to June 2031. He has scored 15 Premier League goals in 2025-26 — third in the scoring charts — and 7 goals in 12 City appearances since joining.
How much did Manchester City pay for Semenyo?
Manchester City paid AFC Bournemouth £64 million (€72 million) for Antoine Semenyo on January 9, 2026. He signed a five-and-a-half-year contract to June 2031 at the Etihad Stadium. The transfer made him one of the most expensive Ghanaian players in football history and represented a 540% return on the £10 million Bournemouth had paid Bristol City in January 2023.
What shirt number does Semenyo wear at Manchester City?
Antoine Semenyo wears the number 42 shirt at Manchester City — confirmed by WhoScored and LiveScore’s official player profiles. This is a non-standard squad number for a first-choice wide forward and may reflect the squad number availability when he signed mid-season in January 2026.
What is Semenyo’s nationality?
Antoine Semenyo represents Ghana internationally, despite being born in London, England, and also being eligible for France through his mother’s French citizenship. He chose Ghana and made his senior debut for the Black Stars on June 1, 2022, in a 3-0 AFCON qualifying win over Madagascar. He competed in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. He has 32 senior Ghana caps and 3 international goals as of early 2026 (Soccerway data).
How old is Antoine Semenyo?
Antoine Semenyo was born on January 7, 2000, making him 26 years old as of March 2026. He turned 26 on the day of his last Bournemouth match — the 3-2 win over Tottenham on January 7, 2026 — when he scored the last-minute winner in what became his farewell appearance for the club. Manchester City’s official announcement described him as entering “the prime years of his career” at age 26.
Why did Semenyo leave Bournemouth for Man City?
Antoine Semenyo left Bournemouth for Manchester City because he specifically wanted to join the club — City’s Director of Football Hugo Viana confirmed “he made it clear to us immediately that it was City he wanted to join.” His five-and-a-half-year contract and £64 million fee reflected both City’s identification of him as their top January target and Bournemouth’s leverage from the contract extension signed in July 2024. His stated reason: “I have watched City over the last decade under Pep Guardiola, and they have been the dominant team in the Premier League.”
What are Semenyo’s career stats in 2025-26?
In the 2025-26 season, Antoine Semenyo has scored 17 goals in 33 total appearances across Bournemouth and Manchester City (as of March 5, 2026, per YEN.com.gh), with 15 of those coming in the Premier League. His FotMob 2025-26 Premier League average rating is 7.44. WhoScored shows his recent City rating has been as high as 7.57. His career total across all competitions is 65 goals. At Manchester City specifically: 7 goals in 12 appearances across all competitions to March 10, 2026.
Has Semenyo played in the Champions League?
No — the Real Madrid first leg on March 11, 2026 will be Antoine Semenyo’s Champions League debut. He has competed in the Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, Championship, League One, League Two, AFCON, and World Cup, but has never appeared in the Champions League before. If he scores against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu on his debut, he would become only the sixth Ghanaian player to score in the UEFA Champions League.
What are Semenyo’s strengths and weaknesses?
WhoScored’s official player assessment lists Semenyo’s strengths as: finishing (strong), long shots (strong), direct free kicks (strong), aerial duels (strong), and dribbling (strong). His weaknesses are: offside awareness (very weak), holding on to the ball (weak), and crossing (weak). His playing styles are: likes to cut inside and commits fouls often. The crossing weakness is consistent with his profile as a winger who cuts inside onto his stronger right foot rather than providing conventional wide delivery.
Did Semenyo score on his Man City debut?
Yes. Antoine Semenyo scored a goal and provided an assist in his Manchester City debut on January 10, 2026 — a 10-1 FA Cup victory over Exeter City at the Etihad Stadium. He then scored again in his second appearance, an EFL Cup semi-final first-leg 2-0 away win at Newcastle United on January 13, making him the first Manchester City player to score in each of his first two appearances since August 2009.
Who is Semenyo’s partner and family?
Antoine Semenyo proposed to his long-time girlfriend Jordeen Buckley on November 18, 2025. His father Larry Semenyo is a former professional footballer in Ghana. His younger brother Jai Semenyo plays professionally for FC Lorient B in the French Championnat National 2. He holds British, Ghanaian, and French citizenship.
What clubs has Semenyo played for before Man City?
Antoine Semenyo’s club career: Bath City (loan, January-July 2018, 6 goals in 16 apps); Newport County (loan, 2018-19, 32 apps, League Two); Bristol City (2017-2023, including Championship breakthrough); Sunderland (loan, January-March 2020); AFC Bournemouth (January 2023-January 2026, £10m transfer, 82 appearances, 30 goals); Manchester City (January 2026-present, £64m, to June 2031). His transfer history goes: Bristol City to Bournemouth (€10.3m, January 2023); Bournemouth to Manchester City (€72m, January 2026).
To Conclude
Antoine Semenyo’s story — from a fifteen-year-old rejected by Crystal Palace after an eight-week trial who “decided to give up on becoming a professional footballer,” to a £64 million Manchester City winger who is third in the Premier League scoring charts with 15 goals and is about to make his Champions League debut at the Santiago Bernabéu — is one of English football’s most instructive recent biographies.
The specific people who enabled the transformation matter as much as the talent: Dave Hockaday, who convinced him to continue at South Gloucestershire College when he had stopped believing; Michael Flynn and his Newport County coaching staff, who repositioned him from striker to winger; the Bristol City management who developed him through three Championship seasons; and the Bournemouth structure that gave him the Premier League foundation from which Manchester City identified him as their top January transfer target.
At 26, contracted until 2031, with 15 Premier League goals in a single season and the Champions League debut that has always been the final frontier of his career ahead of him on March 11, Semenyo’s journey from the National League South to the Bernabéu represents the full distance English football’s talent pathway can travel. Pep Guardiola’s judgement — “every time the ball arrives to him, he always is there” — is the precise summary of a player who has spent his entire career being in exactly the right place.
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