One of the revelations of the season in the Premier League with already nine decisive contributions (six goals and three assists), Antoine Semenyo told The Times behind the scenes of his impressive progress at Bournemouth. The Ghanaian striker, recruited for just over 10 million euros in 2023, explained that he keeps a diary in which he notes areas for improvement after each match, based on videos sent by an analyst. “I get clips of every game, every game. I watch them alone. The game before Everton, I saw several occasions where the ball went to the far post and I wasn't there. So I worked on that in training, and I wrote it in my journal.”he confided.
However, the Ghanaian's trajectory has not always been linear. Before shining in the Premier League, Semenyo even briefly gave up football at the age of 15, after being failed by Crystal Palacce. “I was just tired of not being accepted into most of the clubs I was trying out for. Crystal Palace was the breaking point. I told myself: you know what, forget it, enjoy being a kid, see your friends, go to school, be normal.”he says. During this break, he took time away from the field to play basketball for a year, before an opportunity presented itself at Bishop's Stortford, where he excelled despite being slightly overweight. From there he moved into Bristol City's academy, playing over 100 games for the first team before joining Bournemouth. Today, he is one of the most sought-after players in English football's elite.
