Long before he was haunting Premier League backlines, Antoine Semenyo was just another face at Cobham, waiting for a ‘yes’ that never came from Chelsea.
Antoine Semenyo’s path to the Premier League was anything but easy. While many top players are scouted young and stay at one big academy, Semenyo had to deal with constant rejection. He spent years going from club to club across London, including trials at Chelsea, Arsenal, and Tottenham. Each time, he was told the same thing: he wasn’t ready yet, or he should try again in six months.
Instead of giving up after being turned away by the biggest teams in the country, he kept working on his game. He eventually found his way through the lower leagues, using loan moves to prove he could handle the professional game.
Today, he sits with five goals and an assist since January after joining Manchester City for a whopping £70 million, proving all of his doubters completely wrong.
Manchester United must be laughing 😬
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Chelsea turned down Antoine Semenyo
Speaking to HBO Max, Semenyo admits he was on trial at Chelsea and was actually rejected.
“Every club I went to said, Oh, come back in the next six months, or you’re not good enough. So that was my story.”
“And where were the teams you were having these trials for?
“I went to Millwall four or five times. I went to Arsenal, went to Chelsea briefly, went to Fulham, went to Crystal Palace. Done a fair few trips, to be fair. Did I mention Tottenham as well? Yeah, I went to Tottenham as well, briefly, and yeah, just the same old answer.”
In fact, Chelsea tried to sign Semenyo in January, but he ultimately chose Manchester City.
Who are we choosing? Liam Rosenior? Or one of these TWO 👀
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Chelsea’s list of transfer mistakes grows
Chelsea has a complicated history with transfers, often changing between brilliant scouting and expensive mistakes.
The Blues have famously spent record-breaking fees on players who failed to adapt, such as Romelu Lukaku’s costly second stint or Kepa Arrizabalaga’s difficult tenure as the world’s most expensive goalkeeper.
Perhaps more frustrating for fans is the list of young talents let go too soon, with Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne eventually becoming world-class stars elsewhere.
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