Antoine Semenyo has impressed for Manchester City since joining from fellow Premier League side Bournemouth in a £64m deal during the January transfer window
Erling Haaland celebrates with Antoine Semenyo during Man City's FA Cup final win over Chelsea at Wembley
Erling Haaland celebrates with Antoine Semenyo during Man City's FA Cup final win over Chelsea(Image: (Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images))
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Antoine Semenyo's impact at Manchester City has been seamless due to his footballing intelligence. Semenyo has only been a City player since January following his £64m arrival from Bournemouth, but he has wasted no time showing just how much he has to offer his new side.
After starting on the left flank and scoring with his right foot in his first game against Exeter City, he scored 11 times and claimed three assists in 27 appearances. As well as contributing directly in the final third, the arrival of Semenyo – alongside defender Marc Guehi – helped galvanise City in the second-half of the season.
Semenyo also produced a sensational second-half finish to secure his side the FA Cup against Chelsea at Wembley last month.
And former City forward Paul Dickov hailed his impact at the club: “He's been incredible since he came in," Dickov said. "Obviously, people look to the assists and, more so, the important goals that he scored. But for me, the most impressive thing is how he settled in so quickly. Marc Guehi as well.
“Historically, especially for forward players and wide players, it's really difficult to go into a Pep Guardiola team and a Pep Guardiola system, where tactically it's probably a million miles away from what they've been used to before.
“I'll go back to the brilliant, who's going to be missed, Bernardo Silva, when he first came in, struggled. Rodri struggled; it took Raheem Sterling time to do it.
“Riyad Mahrez, Sergio Aguero – when Pep first came in, he had to adapt his game. And these were all proven world-class players at the time.
“So, I think for Antoine to come in and hit the ground running just doesn't show you what a good footballer is and what a good attitude is, but how high his football intelligence is, because it's really difficult to adapt.
Antoine Semenyo before a Ghana game
Antoine Semenyo has made an impact at Man City(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
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“I don't want to be disrespectful, but coming from Bournemouth, or from any club to go into a system that Pep Guardiola wants to play was probably completely different.
“It usually takes players two, three (months), sometimes a season to settle in. So the fact that he came in and did it so quickly for me is the most impressive thing about him.”
Dickov, speaking via Gamble Mind, also believes Erling Haaland will use the criticism he has received this season to fuel him to do better next year.
Haaland might have won the Premier League’s Golden Boot for the third time in four seasons, scoring 27 times, but that didn’t stop him coming in for stick for some of his displays.
“Well, he set the standard high in his first season, scoring 52 goals, which was obscene when you think about it," the former Scotland international said.
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“For me, this season, his all-around play has become better. I think people forget that he's only 25 years of age. He's learning all the time, and he's added a bit more to his game.
“To finish top goal scorer or win the golden boot again, and people are saying he's had a bad season. I don't know what he's got to do.
“But because of his profile, because it's big Erling, because of how he is, the standards he set more than anything else, people are always going to want to go and try and shoot him down. He’s got over 40 goals in for club and country this season.
“Some players don't score that in their career, and he's getting a little bit of criticism for it. But, the way I know him, the criticism from the outside will only fuel him to do better.
“He’s such a strong character. He wants to do well, wants to prove people wrong. And he lives on the edge of people criticising him because he wants to go out there and show everybody how good he is.”