Only Erling Haaland has scored more Premier League goals than Antoine Semenyo this season. The buzz surrounding the Bournemouth winger is growing. The only surprise is that it has taken so long. But his route to the top has been an unusual one.
Rejected by a number of professional clubs, it was Crystal Palace’s decision that hit Semenyo hardest. Not getting through the door is one thing. Being given a chance, even having his trial extended, only to be told that he was not good enough was a bitter blow.
Semenyo did not go down the academy route, playing for his college at the age of 17 before finally being picked up by Bristol City. The irony is that learning football his way, unencumbered by constant instruction at a formative age, is what has made him.
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Antoine and Jai Semenyo speak about their childhood and brotherhood
As well as valuable qualities such as resilience and determination, it has helped Semenyo develop his own style. Now Premier League clubs prize those traits. “You can have things coached out of you. Antoine is different,” Dean Holden tells Sky Sports.
Holden was Semenyo’s coach at Bristol City. “His parents wanted him to focus on his studies, but I just could not believe that he had not been picked up because of the size of him. He has come through the back door really. He has been able just to progress.”
That progress is now obvious.
Last season, his goals for Bournemouth included the opener in beating Manchester City, scoring home and away against both Manchester United and Nottingham Forest, as well as away to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. A double on the last day took him to 11.
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Watch Antoine Semenyo’s best goals for Bournemouth in the Premier League
This season, he already has six. Two at Liverpool on the opening night of the Premier League season and two last time out in the win over Fulham, the Ghana international also scored the winner against Brighton and the opener in the draw away to Leeds.
Semenyo is unusual in that he is not only physically imposing for a winger, he is perfectly capable of operating on either flank. His minutes under Cherries boss Andoni Iraola have been shared almost equally between the left wing and the right wing.
Antoine Semenyo’s minutes have been split almost equally between the two flanks
Intriguingly for his coaches, the tactical choice requires no great adaptation for Semenyo himself because he can use either foot. Check out his shot distribution over the past two Premier League seasons – 71 shots with his left and 62 with his right.
And yet, his match-winning penalty against Brighton was hit with his right. “To this day, he does not know which foot is stronger, so I do not know how anyone else would know,” says Holden. “Every player is dominant left or right. He is as good on his left as his right.”
Saul Isaksson-Hurst discovered that for himself this summer. Semenyo sought out the specialist individual coach for some one-on-one sessions to prepare for the coming season. “He wanted to hit the ground running,” Isaksson-Hurst tells Sky Sports.
“The best do more. It is a cliché but it is a reality. The more that you put in, the more that you get out. Those marginal gains are really key. If you squeeze that few per cent out extra, it can really make a difference. He has been electric, so it has definitely worked.”
And that ball striking with both feet? “I have never seen anyone who can do that before, consistently and with power. It is an unorthodox technique. He opens his foot, almost like a knuckleball, and gets real dip. The keepers who work with me say it is unplayable.”
Isaksson-Hurst continues: “I asked him where he learned that. He just said, ‘I have been working on it.’ It is hours of refining his technique.” No academy background required, just work. “It has given him that resilience to keep battling, to keep working hard.”
The days on loan at Newport County must feel a long time ago now but it is all part of his journey, starting out with a temporary stint at Bath City in the sixth tier. “Just to get the confidence, rather than going straight to a League Two club,” explains Holden.
“Brian Tinnion, the technical director at Bristol City, deserves a huge amount of credit. He is one of the best I have seen at putting young players in the right environment at the right time. He does not just stick them in.” Semenyo learned from those experiences.
Of course, there were areas to improve. He was raw compared to his colleagues. He did need to learn. “The other side of it is that you then need quite a bit of fine-tuning around stuff that you would probably not have done outside of an academy,” adds Holden.
Antoine Semenyo’s touch map and chances created for Bournemouth
Semenyo’s scanning was not at the level, in part because he was so strong that he did not always need it. “The smaller ones tend to be very good when receiving the ball because they have to be. Antoine was different. We worked a lot on his hold-up play.”
Holden adds: “Because I was a centre-half, I was trying to teach him the dark arts. He did not know the art of pinning. He was trying to pin too early and I was able to flip him round because I was a wily old fox. It was all about teaching him little things like that.”
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Andoni Iraola is asked whether Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo is worth £100m
Jason Euell, who also coached Semenyo at Bristol City, later focused on his decision-making. “We knew that he had an eye for goal. It was just about knowing when to cross or shoot. In the Premier League, if you try to beat your man again, the chance is gone.”
At Bournemouth, under Iraola, in particular, he has developed into a player of high class who still retains that fire in him, that willingness to press in the final third. No player in the Premier League won the ball in the final third more than Semenyo this past season.
The combination of shot volume and high pressing is rare. It is what the biggest clubs are looking for – and Holden is convinced the next step would not faze him. “He could walk out at the Bernabeu with five minutes notice and just go out and play his game.”
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He adds: “His mindset is one of the biggest things that he has going for him. He is just so balanced. He does not get bogged down by missing a chance or giving the ball away. Just watch him next time you see him, his reactions to stuff. He is fantastic.
“I genuinely mean it, I think he could go and affect one of the top teams in the Premier League. He is still young enough to do it because he has got all the credentials that you need. He can finish off both feet, has pace to burn and is one of the strongest around.”
Antoine Semenyo’s stats for Bournemouth show how highly he rates
It is an appealing skillset, a player who, piece by piece, has been able to put together the mental, the physical, the technical and the tactical to become one of the best players in the Premier League. And, at 25 years old, Semenyo’s very best is yet to come.
“He is a Champions League player,” concludes Isaksson-Hurst. “He should be there already. It is inevitable. He is a genuine gentleman who deserves it. It has been a unique journey. Some people take a bit longer to get to the top. But, man, he is there now.”
Watch Bournemouth vs Nottingham Forest live on Sky Sports+ this Sunday from 12.30pm; kick-off 2pm
