Antoine Semenyo
Winger / Forward · Manchester City · Ghana
About Antoine Semenyo
Antoine Semenyo is the Ghana forward Manchester City signed from Bournemouth in January 2026, a winger from west London who was turned away by four London clubs as a teenager and rebuilt his career through college football and Bristol City.
Antoine Semenyo's story
Chelsea Roots, Ghanaian Home
He was born on 7 January 2000 near Chelsea's Stamford Bridge, in west London (ENG), to Ghanaian parents. His father, Larry, played in Ghana's top flight with Okwahu United and Advance Stars. Semenyo says his mum and dad are 'Ghana through and through'.
Four Doors Closed
Trials at Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Millwall led nowhere, and Crystal Palace let him go at 15 after he had been at the club for months. He stepped away from football for about a year to focus on school and friends. He has said the rejections 'motivated me to this day'.
The College Coach
An open trial led to a place in the academy of South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, where Dave Hockaday, the head of male football, drove him in early every morning and became, in Semenyo's words, one of the biggest influences in his life. His family had moved out of London, to Swindon and then Bristol, to give him a calmer route back into the game.
Bristol City And The Loan Circuit
He signed his first professional contract with Bristol City in January 2018, then learned the men's game on loan at Bath City, Newport County and Sunderland. Recalled from Newport in January 2019, he became a regular from 2020 and was named Championship Player of the Month for January 2022 and Bristol City's Young Player of the Year for 2021-22. Senior team-mate Nahki Wells acted as an early mentor.
Bournemouth And Iraola
Bournemouth signed him on 27 January 2023 for £10m. His first goal came in a 4-1 win over Leeds United on 30 April 2023, and under Andoni Iraola he grew into one of the Premier League's most direct wide forwards, with new contracts in 2024 and 2025 and 10 league goals in the first half of 2025-26 alone.
Black Stars
He was called up by Ghana on 26 May 2022, made his debut against Madagascar on 1 June 2022 and played 19 minutes across two substitute appearances at that year's World Cup. At the 2026 World Cup he was named man of the match as Ghana beat Panama 1-0 in their opener, then faced England in a 0-0 draw at Boston on 23 June 2026.
Manchester City
City triggered his release clause and announced him on 9 January 2026 on a five-and-a-half-year deal, a reported £64m. Within three months he had won the EFL Cup, and on 16 May 2026 his back-flick finish beat Chelsea 1-0 in the FA Cup final. He won the Premier League Player of the Month award for February 2026, his first.
Did you know?
- 🏆 In August 2026 he became the first Ghanaian named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year, alongside City team-mates Nico O'Reilly, Rayan Cherki and Erling Haaland.
- 💍 He proposed to his partner of several years, Jordeen Buckley, on 18 November 2025 and married her in October 2026, using the international break for the wedding.
- 👨👩👦 His father, Larry, still reminds him of the chance he missed in his final Crystal Palace trial game, and his younger brother, Jai, is a professional at Lorient.
- 🏖️ In Bournemouth he spent much of his spare time on the beach with his dog, and only later noticed that four of his clubs, Bristol City, Newport County, Sunderland and Bournemouth, were on or near the sea.
- 🍾 When he signed for Bournemouth he sent Dave Hockaday a bottle of champagne labelled 'hunger and belief'.
- 👟 He once played 13 minutes for Highworth Town in an FA Cup preliminary-round tie against Marlow on 20 August 2017.
- 🇬🇭 He says Ghana's call came when he was 19 or 20 and that he was never going to turn it down, even though people kept suggesting he should play for England.
- 🏟️ Before joining City he went to a Bristol City v Manchester City Carabao Cup semi-final, and remembers watching Kevin De Bruyne and Vincent Kompany.
- 🏅 The Sports Writers Association of Ghana named him its Foreign Footballer of the Year for 2025.
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