Antoine Semenyo admits his ultimate dream is to play in the Premier League and Champions League but the Bristol City forward has indicated he’s happy in BS3 and is focused on securing promotion with the Robins.
Keeping hold of Semenyo will be among City’s toughest assignments this summer following a season in which the 22-year-old has announced himself as a genuine Premier League prospect with eight Championship goals and 12 assists in 31 appearances.
A host of top-flight sides have either scouted or declared tentative interest in Semenyo, including West Ham, Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace, while City knocked back an offer from Nottingham Forest, who could still earn promotion, in January.
However, the Robins have both a new contract on the table for the academy product and a 12-month option in his deal which is expected to be exercised this month keeping him under an agreement at Ashton Gate until 2024.
That provides City with a degree of security, meaning they won’t need to be rushed into any decision, unlike with Han-Noah Massengo as he enters the final 12 months of his contract, but the fact remains if a large bid is forthcoming for Semenyo, the financial landscape of the Championship means the Robins will find it hard to turn down.
One extra layer of protection they have, at least with 2022/23 in mind, is that Semenyo appears in no hurry to force a move through, given his comments to Ghanaian radio station Happy Sports earlier this month.
In a wide-ranging interview, in which London-born Semenyo also revealed he’s an Arsenal fan, the 22-year-old was asked about his position at City in the context of when the Robins rejected a £2million bid from Chelsea in 2019, shortly before his debut, and made a potentially telling comment.
“For a team like that to bid for you it’s a big thing, and it must mean I’m playing well or they see some sort of potential," Semenyo said. "It was pretty sad but I feel it was the right decision for me, because I would gone into a system of playing 23s, when really I could have built up all the experience in the Championship - which I did - but I’m happy where I am now, I feel like that was so early on me but it was the right decision to stay in Bristol.”
Exactly what “I’m happy where I am” represents is open to some interpretation in terms of whether Semenyo definitely means location or in terms of where his career currently is and why it was, as he later admits, something of a blessing in disguise that City turned the offer from Chelsea down because it’s allowed him to develop at the right pace, earning first-team experience on loan at Sunderland and with City, most notably over the last two campaigns.
But the conversation appears to have been conducted before the final game of the 2021/22 season against Huddersfield Town in which City lost 2-0 to confirm their 17th place in the Championship, 20 points adrift of the play-offs.
And when asked as to what his ambitions are for City next season, the striker added: “100 per cent promotion. We aspired for that at the start of this season and it will still be the same for seasons to come. I feel like we’ve got a good team to challenge for promotion and play-offs, that’s what we’re tackling for next season.
“It’s been tough; the last few games we started to play well but if we had done that earlier in the season we could have been contenders for the play-offs. There are so many games we should have won, that we drew or lost.”
Semenyo spoke glowingly of his relationship with Chris Martin and Andi Weimann and how they’ve helped his progress over the course of this season.
The former SGS College student’s talent has long been anticipated but Nigel Pearson’s faith in consistently fielding him as a central striker this term has allowed Semenyo to showcase his talents to their full capabilities.
The 22-year-old’s physical traits have always caught the eye, but it’s also how he’s learned to use his body, both in shielding the ball and pressing defenders coupled with the timing of his runs and his overall football IQ that has elevated him to a new level.
It seems inevitable that at some stage, should he maintain this steep upward trajectory, he will be playing Premier League football - a goal that continues to drive him forward. Albeit not a surprising one.
“I’m aspiring to play in the Premier League, I feel like I have all the attributes as a striker to play in that league,” Semenyo added. “I’m hoping I can start getting 15+ goals in the league, representing Ghana and just flourishing,
“Champions League, FA Cup; if I was playing against Man City and Man United every week I would be complaining.
“Individually, if you’re performing well enough you attract all the interest from teams above; if you’re doing well, scoring goals, defending or getting assists - if you make enough noise, all the teams will be watching you.”
With interest reported in Belgium from Club Brugge and Anderlecht, plus Scottish giants Celtic who have watched Semenyo this season and conducted due diligence checks on his character, he was asked of the prospect of playing outside of England.
“I have considered that, it’s definitely an option but everybody wants to play in the Premier League,” he said. “I wouldn’t say no to playing in Spain, Germany or France if the opportunity arises and it’s a good option but the Premier League is the main thing for me.”
The interview was understandably heavily focused on his prospects with Ghana having declared for the Black Stars and robbed of a first cap in March after sustaining a knee injury against West Brom, just a day before he was due to fly to Africa.
Semenyo, who has been using former Robins U23 teammate Jojo Wollacott as a sounding board for life inside the Black Stars camp, is set to be included for the squad for their African Cup of Nations qualifiers against Madagascar and the Central African Republic in June, which not only further raises his profile but puts him in contention for a place at the World Cup in November.
"For myself, it's an honour and I'll always be ready," Semenyo said. "I've always wanted to play for Ghana, it was just the timing; I wanted to get some form and experience before I could reach out to Ghana, but they come to me, so I can't complain."
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