The clamour for Antoine Semenyo comes down to more than simply a clever escape clause in his Bournemouth contract.
The 25-year-old Londoner is a forward for these times. He suits modern tactical trends and systems. He works hard out of possession and wins the ball in dangerous areas of the pitch.
All of this on top of abundant talent. There is the destructive pace and a rare ability to run with the ball, going past opponents on either side, scoring incredible goals like the second of his two at Liverpool on the opening night of this season.
Semenyo picked up possession deep inside his own half and drove forward through the centre of the pitch, driving Ibrahima Konate back towards his own goal.
‘That has always been in his locker,’ recalls Dean Holden, now assistant head coach at Hull City and in charge of Bristol City when Semenyo was establishing himself in the first team at Ashton Gate.
‘He didn’t come into the club until he was 18, but he came with the raw power you can see today. He would push it and run and found it easy to manhandle defenders and make up for a bad touch with his pace.
‘We always thought he could go on to the Premier League, so we spent a lot of time trying to refine those strengths, working on the things he needed when he came up against better, quicker defenders, taking smaller touches, the comfort touch as we say in coaching, hooking defenders in so they commit to the tackle and might dangle a leg.’
That day at Anfield, when Semenyo had forced Konate back to the fringes of his own penalty area, Holden recognised how far the Bournemouth forward had advanced when his close control tipped the experienced Liverpool defender off balance, left him with a change of pace in the other direction and hammered a shot low into the net.
Antoine Semenyo’s opening-night brace at Anfield in August showcased his skills in style
… and Liverpool boss Arne Slot showed his respect for Semenyo’s display after the game
These are the refinements to spark alert the very best coaches in the Premier League, and they have become a recurring theme of his season. Teasing and tormenting full backs, sending panic ripping through defensive quarters, setting game-plans ablaze.
Holden was up in the stands at Old Trafford earlier this month when Semenyo scored in the thrilling 4-4 draw against Manchester United.
On this occasion, he gathered the ball in a position wide on the right and set off for the penalty area on a diagonal run, direct and just too quick for those scrambling back to land any recovery tackles. His finish was another low and precise drive.
Semenyo continues to add layers to enhance his natural gifts and because he does not have the complete academy background because his parents wanted to see him complete his college education there remains an element of the ‘uncoached’ about him.
He has unpredictability, a rare and elusive quality in the modern game. He has an excellent fitness record, rarely missing through injury, and has two strong feet.
‘Even Antoine isn’t sure of his best foot,’ says Holden, who can also attest to his exemplary attitude. ‘Big smile, likeable, comfortable in his own skin, just a normal lad.’
Semenyo has nine Premier League goals for Bournemouth this term, beaten only by Igor Thiago of Brentford and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland
He is willing to listen and learn. And has evolved through the EFL with loan spells at Bath City, Newport County and Sunderland before making his mark at Bristol City.
When it comes to temperament, there was another example from Liverpool in August when he was so impressive in his handling of racist abuse from one fan and channelled his emotions.
Another prized quality is Semenyo’s versatility. Perhaps it is connected to his evolution in the lower leagues where everyone mucks in for the cause and takes the job they are asked to do, rather than declares they can only play as a number 10.
He is effective anywhere across the front line. Something those coaching the biggest teams adore because it gives them scope to tinker and tweak the shape of the team and rotate players through the intense workload of different competitions.
‘I thought he could be a No 9,’ Holden tells Daily Mail Sport. Again, at Bristol City, they set up training exercises for Semenyo to learn to play with his back to goal, holding up the ball, bringing others into play, becoming used to physical attention and developing the art of ‘pinning’ the centre half.
Gary O’Neil, Bournemouth boss when they signed Semenyo for £10.5million in January 2023, was another who could see him maturing into a centre forward.
Semenyo enjoyed a successful loan spell at Newport from Bristol City in 2018-19
Perhaps he will, but for now Holden considers his best position to be wide on the left.
From there, he can roll inside and threaten the goal or go past on the outside even when he is tight to the line because he has developed the ability to create from intricate spaces.
This will be vital when he moves away from Bournemouth.
He has matured and progressed quickly under Andoni Iraola, integral to a team that is ultra-aggressive in the press and quick in transition, prepared to be a leader in the attack and shoulder a burden of responsibility for goals.
With nine goals and three assists, only Erling Haaland has more than his 12 goal involvements in the Premier League this season.
Many respect Bournemouth’s qualities and yet very few set up to deny them space and make life difficult.
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola has been instrumental in Semenyo’s rise
When Semenyo lands among the elite though, he will find fewer of those open spaces in which he thrives. Instead, he will spend more time trying to unpick deep-lying, reinforced defensive units in congested areas around the confines of the penalty box
It will demand another adjustment. There will be intense scrutiny, expectation and fierce competition for places.
He will not be a certain starter, which will challenge him in another way and there will be a deluge of fresh tactical instruction. Thoughts will flicker to Jack Grealish if he ends up at Manchester City.
All part of the territory, but Semenyo has navigated his way through every challenge thus far. There is no reason to doubt he can do it again.
