'Semenyo could be in for a memorable campaign'

In January 2023, when Bournemouth were struggling at the foot of the Premier League table, the then-manager Gary O’Neil and the board decided to spend a reasonable £10m on Bristol City attacker Antoine Semenyo.

He managed to notch his first top flight goal in a home win against Leeds, but with injuries and players in front of him in the pecking order, it really felt as if this may be a signing purely for some squad depth.

A few definitely saw the signs of potential in the Ghanaian, but many supporters were probably justified to believe he’d struggle to get ahead of Dominic Solanke up top. Plus, given we had plenty of quality in wide areas, a back-up option seemed Semenyo’s likely role.

Fast forward to the present day and Semenyo is one of the first names on the team sheet. Since the arrival of head coach Andoni Iraola, Antoine has been deployed mainly from a wide position, and he has been simply electric.

He is often found turning full-backs inside out, and his explosive pace and dribbling abilities is a joy for Cherries fans to watch. In a relatively short period of time, Semenyo has endeared himself to the Bournemouth faithful and is now firmly a fans' favourite, providing goals, assists and plenty of marauding runs to go with it.

A goal and an assist in his opening two games this season is the perfect start for a player who is now not only catching the eye of Cherries fans, but also the wider footballing world. Benefiting greatly from Iraola’s style of play, Semenyo could be in for a memorable campaign. Could he even hit double figures in terms of goals this season?

Absolutely. Watch this space.

Find more from Tom Jordan at Back of the Net