Bristol City striker Antoine Semenyo has been named in Ghana’s 26-man squad for the World Cup but former Robins goalkeeper Jojo Wollacott has missed out on a place at Qatar 2022 due to a late injury.
Semenyo was confirmed by head coach Otto Addo on Monday morning with the Black Stars among one of the last nations to confirm their travelling party for the tournament which kicks off this Saturday in the Middle East.
The Robins academy product earned his first Ghana cap in June against Madagascar, after declaring for the African nation having also been eligible to represent England, his country of birth.
Ghana are in Group H, arguably the toughest of the tournament, alongside Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea, which their first match against the former a week on Thursday.
Wollacott, who now plays for Charlton Athletic in League One, has been a mainstay in the Ghana squad for the last two years and was in line to be their No1, but has been left out by Addo due to a finger injury sustained in the warm-up before Saturday’s game against Burton Albion. It's a heartbreaking blow for the Bristol-born goalkeeper, who was with City's academy from 2013 until 2021.
For Semenyo, it represents an opportunity to further his reputation on the global stage after what has been a challenging start to the 2022/23 campaign. The 22-year-old didn’t make his first appearance until the end of August after missing the whole of pre-season having suffered a shin injury for Ghana in June, but after four goals in five games off the bench, hasn’t found the target for 13 matches.
He remains of interest to several Premier League clubs, most notably Crystal Palace who first tried to sign him from SGS College four years ago only for Semenyo to choose City, where he has made 116 appearances after making his debut during the 2018/2019 season.
His contract expires next summer but City still hold a one-year option which they are expected to activate as a matter of course to give them extra protection in the transfer market. As indicated by manager Nigel Pearson last week, in order to strengthen their squad in January, the Robins will need to sell and Semenyo looks the most likely candidate to leave at present with Scottish giants Rangers linked in a £5million move.
Bristol Live understands that there has been no contact between clubs at present, but that sort of noise is likely to intensify should Semenyo enjoy a prosperous tournament in Qatar.
The 22-year-old is the only current City player who will be competing at the World Cup, but is joined at the tournament by former Robins striker Famara Diedhiou (Senegal), midfielder Joe Morrell (Wales) and defender Bailey Wright (Australia).
City are due to receive around £9,000 a day in compensation from FIFA for Semenyo's participation in the competition, under the organisation's relief fund for domestic clubs, which will be worth between £160,000-£330,000 depending on how far the Black Stars progress.
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