# Antoine Semenyo
**Antoine Semenyo** (born 2000 in London) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Manchester City and the Ghana national team. He rose from non-league loans at Bath City and Newport County to become one of the Premier League's most productive attackers under [Andoni Iraola](https://www.edgepedia.org/andoni-iraola) at Bournemouth, and in January 2026 Manchester City signed him for an initial £62.5 million on a five-and-a-half-year contract.[1](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4515794/man-city-sign-semenyo-from-bournemouth) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jan/09/manchester-city-sign-antoine-semenyo-bournemouth-contract-pep-guardiola)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | London, 2000; Ghana international[3](https://cadenaser.com/euskadi/2026/06/23/antoine-semenyo-el-punal-al-que-dio-forma-iraola-y-que-hoy-sienta-en-el-banquillo-del-mundial-a-inaki-williams-radio-bilbao/) |
| Current club | Manchester City, No 42, five-and-a-half-year contract to 30 June 2031[1](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4515794/man-city-sign-semenyo-from-bournemouth) • [4](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/antoine-semenyo/transfers/spieler/583255/transfer_id/6107087) |
| Transfer fee | Initial £62.5m plus £1.5m in add-ons, with 10% of any future profit due to Bournemouth; BBC reported the deal as worth about £65m[2](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jan/09/manchester-city-sign-antoine-semenyo-bournemouth-contract-pep-guardiola) • [5](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c801yv529z7o) |
| Bournemouth record | 28 goals and 10 assists in 97 Premier League appearances (January 2023 to January 2026)[1](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4515794/man-city-sign-semenyo-from-bournemouth) |
| 2024/25 season | 14 goals in 44 club-and-country games; Bournemouth finished ninth with a club-record 56 points[1](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4515794/man-city-sign-semenyo-from-bournemouth) |
| 2025/26 before transfer | 10 Premier League goals, third in the Golden Boot race behind Erling Haaland and Igor Thiago[1](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4515794/man-city-sign-semenyo-from-bournemouth) • [6](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/oficial-semenyo-citizen-por-una-millonada-f202601-n/) |
| Recognition | First Ghanaian named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year (August 2026)[7](https://www.flashscore.com/player/semenyo-antoine/r1Gz1yPk/) |
## Early career
Semenyo's route into professional football was unconventional. He played at [South Gloucestershire](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-gloucestershire) and Stroud College's football academy, where he attracted the attention of Bristol City, and made his Bristol City debut on the final day of the 2017/18 season.[1](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4515794/man-city-sign-semenyo-from-bournemouth) As a child he had been rejected by Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, two of the clubs that later pursued him as an adult, and he gave up football for a year during his adolescence.[6](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/oficial-semenyo-citizen-por-una-millonada-f202601-n/)
He gained senior experience on loan. At the start of 2018/19 he joined Newport County, scoring six goals in 32 appearances before Bristol City recalled him in January 2019; he also had a spell at Bath City in the National League South.[1](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4515794/man-city-sign-semenyo-from-bournemouth) • [6](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/oficial-semenyo-citizen-por-una-millonada-f202601-n/) A later loan took him to [Sunderland](https://www.edgepedia.org/sunderland).[3](https://cadenaser.com/euskadi/2026/06/23/antoine-semenyo-el-punal-al-que-dio-forma-iraola-y-que-hoy-sienta-en-el-banquillo-del-mundial-a-inaki-williams-radio-bilbao/) Back at Bristol City he became one of the Championship's most feared attackers, finishing with 21 goals in 125 appearances for the club.[1](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4515794/man-city-sign-semenyo-from-bournemouth)
## Bournemouth
Bournemouth signed Semenyo in January 2023 for about £10 million on a four-and-a-half-year deal, and he improved steadily thereafter.[5](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c801yv529z7o) • [8](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c9qeryx8vn4o) He featured 11 times in his first half-season and scored his first Premier League goal in a 4-1 win over Leeds United.[1](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4515794/man-city-sign-semenyo-from-bournemouth)
**Breakthrough under Iraola.** In 2023/24 he provided 10 goal involvements (eight goals, two assists), including a brace in Bournemouth's 4-3 comeback win over Luton Town that won the 2023/24 Oracle Most Improbable Comeback award.[1](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4515794/man-city-sign-semenyo-from-bournemouth) In 2024/25 he played 44 times for club and country, scored 14 goals, and helped [Bournemouth](https://www.edgepedia.org/bournemouth) to a ninth-place Premier League finish with a club-record 56 points.[1](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4515794/man-city-sign-semenyo-from-bournemouth) FourFourTwo ranked him 24th in its list of the season's 50 best Premier League players, describing him as all-action and noting that he had been rejected by Crystal Palace earlier in his career.[9](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/ranked-the-50-best-premier-league-players-of-the-season-2425)
**The 2025/26 season and release clause.** He signed a contract extension in the summer of 2025 that had been due to run to 2030, and the deal contained a £65 million release clause, £60 million plus £5 million in add-ons according to [Sky Sports News](https://www.edgepedia.org/sky-sports-news), activatable only during the first two weeks of the January 2026 transfer window.[5](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c801yv529z7o) • [10](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cwy543n274wo) • [11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1MjcPQ_vXM) By late December 2025 he had scored nine goals in 17 league matches,[12](https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/fotboll/a/0pnqkB/antoine-semenyos-tva-inkast-fixade-poang-mot-chelsea) and his late winner against Tottenham Hotspur on 7 January 2026 proved to be his final Bournemouth appearance, which head coach Andoni Iraola called a perfect send-off.[13](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4534650/iraola-it-looks-like-semenyo-has-had-a-perfect-send-off)
## Move to Manchester City
The sale was a club record for Bournemouth, and the Spanish press valued the agreement at more than €74 million including add-ons.[1](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4515794/man-city-sign-semenyo-from-bournemouth) • [14](https://cadenaser.com/nacional/2026/01/08/el-manchester-city-acuerda-el-fichaje-de-antoine-semenyo-por-mas-de-74m-cadena-ser/)
In his first months at the club he played regularly in the Premier League and made appearances in the Champions League, including against [FC Porto](https://www.edgepedia.org/fc-porto) in September 2026.[7](https://www.flashscore.com/player/semenyo-antoine/r1Gz1yPk/) In August 2026 he became the first Ghanaian named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year.[7](https://www.flashscore.com/player/semenyo-antoine/r1Gz1yPk/)
Bournemouth moved on quickly after the sale, reinvesting in the Brazilian teenager Rayan, and after Semenyo's departure the club went on a run in which it was the only Premier League team not to lose a game.[15](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/rayan-scout-report) • [16](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cwyv1wxjd45o)
## International career
Semenyo represents Ghana. At the 2026 World Cup he was preferred to [Iñaki Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/inaki-williams) in Ghana's attack, with Williams an unused substitute in the Black Stars' opening 1-1 draw against Panama under coach Otto Queiroz.[3](https://cadenaser.com/euskadi/2026/06/23/antoine-semenyo-el-punal-al-que-dio-forma-iraola-y-que-hoy-sienta-en-el-banquillo-del-mundial-a-inaki-williams-radio-bilbao/) Before the tournament Semenyo publicly backed Ghana to reach the knockout rounds despite the team finishing bottom of its group four years earlier.[17](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/player/antoine-semenyo-backs-ghana-to-qualify-for-the-knock-out-rounds-of-the-world-cup-despite-finishing-bottom-of-the-group-four-years-ago)
## Playing style
Semenyo is a left-sided winger who can play across the front line. Spanish analysis of his Bournemouth form describes him as an almost unstoppable ball-carrier, technically strong, two-footed with powerful long-range shooting off either foot, and committed defensively, leading the high press characteristic of Iraola's teams.[18](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/semenyo-otro-pelotazo-de-iraola-f202510-n/)
## References
1. [Man City sign Semenyo from Bournemouth, Premier League](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4515794/man-city-sign-semenyo-from-bournemouth)
2. [Manchester City sign Antoine Semenyo for initial £62.5m on contract to 2031, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jan/09/manchester-city-sign-antoine-semenyo-bournemouth-contract-pep-guardiola)
3. [Antoine Semenyo: el puñal al que dio forma Iraola, Cadena SER](https://cadenaser.com/euskadi/2026/06/23/antoine-semenyo-el-punal-al-que-dio-forma-iraola-y-que-hoy-sienta-en-el-banquillo-del-mundial-a-inaki-williams-radio-bilbao/)
4. [Antoine Semenyo transfer history, Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/antoine-semenyo/transfers/spieler/583255/transfer_id/6107087)
5. [Antoine Semenyo: Manchester City sign Bournemouth winger in deal worth about £65m, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c801yv529z7o)
6. [Oficial: fichajazo millonario de Guardiola, AS](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/oficial-semenyo-citizen-por-una-millonada-f202601-n/)
7. [Antoine Semenyo stats, Flashscore](https://www.flashscore.com/player/semenyo-antoine/r1Gz1yPk/)
8. [Antoine Semenyo: Why Man City have signed Bournemouth's 'extraordinary' forward, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c9qeryx8vn4o)
9. [Ranked! The 50 Best Premier League players of the season, FourFourTwo](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/ranked-the-50-best-premier-league-players-of-the-season-2425)
10. [Antoine Semenyo: Bournemouth winger has £65m January release clause in contract, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cwy543n274wo)
11. [Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo has a £65m release clause that can be triggered in January, Sky Sports News](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1MjcPQ_vXM)
12. [Semenyos två inkast fixade poäng i London, Aftonbladet](https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/fotboll/a/0pnqkB/antoine-semenyos-tva-inkast-fixade-poang-mot-chelsea)
13. [Iraola: It looks like Semenyo has had a perfect send-off, Premier League](https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/4534650/iraola-it-looks-like-semenyo-has-had-a-perfect-send-off)
14. [El Manchester City acuerda el fichaje de Antoine Semenyo por más de 74M€, Cadena SER](https://cadenaser.com/nacional/2026/01/08/el-manchester-city-acuerda-el-fichaje-de-antoine-semenyo-por-mas-de-74m-cadena-ser/)
15. [Who exactly is Rayan? FourFourTwo's two-minute scout report](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/rayan-scout-report)
16. [How Bournemouth moved on from losing Antoine Semenyo, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cwyv1wxjd45o)
17. [Antoine Semenyo backs Ghana to qualify for the knock out rounds of the World Cup, FourFourTwo](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/player/antoine-semenyo-backs-ghana-to-qualify-for-the-knock-out-rounds-of-the-world-cup-despite-finishing-bottom-of-the-group-four-years-ago)
18. [Semenyo, otro 'pelotazo' de Iraola, AS](https://as.com/futbol/internacional/semenyo-otro-pelotazo-de-iraola-f202510-n/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People › Men's footballers of Africa › West African footballers › Ghanaian and Ivorian footballers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license