Antoine Semenyo (left) and Marc Guehi
Antoine Semenyo (left) and Marc Guehi
Four goals from Antoine Semenyo in his first three appearances for Manchester City emphasise how right the club was in inducting the winger. City had signed the Ghanaian from AFC Bournemouth during the January transfer window.
Owing to Uefa regulations, both he and centre-back Marc Guehi — the other player who made his way into City last month — haven’t been able to play at the ongoing Champions League.
However, in the Premier League, where City are currently second in the standings and six points behind toppers Arsenal, Semenyo’s rhythm will be crucial for Pep Guardiola’s men in their bid to regain the top position.
Before that, City need to cross the Liverpool hurdle at Anfield on Sunday.
With Erling Haaland linked with a move away from City, Semenyo’s role may assume greater significance. However, the situation isn’t putting Semenyo under any extra pressure.
“I don’t feel that pressure. I set high expectations for myself from day one, knowing I’d be compared to players like Haaland,” Semenyo told The Telegraph in an interaction facilitated by JioStar.
“I wrote specific goal targets in my notebook at the season’s start to compete with the league’s top scorers. I want to keep pushing forward.”
Semenyo believes playing under Guardiola will help lift his game. “He (Pep)’s fully focused on our improvement and has full belief in us.”
Guehi, too, echoed Semenyo. “Pep’s improving my game massively. He’s someone who believes in us completely,” Guehi said.
Semenyo and Guehi will turn rivals when England face Ghana in the World Cup on June 24.
“It’s fantastic that we’ll both be competing at that level,” Semenyo, who has 32 international caps so far, said.
“Any World Cup match will be exciting and tough. When the time comes, we’ll be ready,” Guehi, with 26 England appearances so far, said.
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