Arsenal and Spurs once turned down a player they said wasn’t good enough, but now he’s one of the best in the Premier League.
Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur once turned down Antoine Semenyo when he was just a teenager, but today the Ghanaian player is one of the Premier League’s stars.
In January, Semenyo moved from Bournemouth to Manchester City for about £65 million. He had spent an amazing three years at Bournemouth, where his speed, strength, and skill with both feet made him one of the league’s best attackers.
The 26-year-old did get hurt a bit with a knee and lower leg injury during City’s 3-2 win over Ipswich Town on October 17. But before that, he had a great start at City, scoring 13 goals and helping with six assists in his first 37 games.
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Wearing number 42, Semenyo aims to be back by mid-December and hopes to continue playing well under coach Enzo Maresca. He made a strong impression, with five goal contributions, including two goals against Sunderland, in just his first seven Premier League games this season.
His great start at the Etihad Stadium shows how far Semenyo has come since being rejected by five clubs before finally joining Bristol City.
Semenyo’s road to success is well known because he faced many rejection letters as a young player in South London. Starting at 14, he tried out for Arsenal and Tottenham but was turned down. The clubs thought he was too small and stocky, missing his real skill with the ball.
Less than a year later, he also failed trials at Fulham and Millwall. At 15, after a long eight-week trial with Crystal Palace, he was rejected again and almost gave up football.
“I went to a lot of clubs and they all told me I wasn’t good enough. It’s tough to hear that when you’re young,” Semenyo said in March 2024.
“Palace was the hardest because I was there a long time. I thought I would get signed, but I didn’t. I remember crying in the car and asking my dad, ‘Why does this keep happening?’ I stopped playing football for a year, gained weight, and didn’t think I’d make it. But God works in mysterious ways.”
While trying out at Arsenal, Tottenham, and Millwall, Semenyo played for his local team, Kingfisher. Then David Hockaday, who briefly managed Leeds United, convinced him to join a college program in Swindon.
At 16, Semenyo left home to study sports science and play for Hockaday at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College. His talent stood out there, and soon Bristol City signed him on a four-year contract in September 2017.
He spent six years at Bristol City, including loans to Newport County and Sunderland, quickly proving he was better than second-tier football, even though some clubs had doubted him.
And the rest is history. The Ghanaian international, with 38 caps, moved to Bournemouth in January 2023 for £9 million, which rose to £10.5 million with extras.
Bournemouth made a £55 million profit from that deal just three years later after Semenyo scored 32 goals and made 13 assists in 110 games for them.
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