On Tuesday night, Antoine Semenyo scored a stoppage-time winner against Tottenham. The Vitality Stadium erupted. It was his birthday — he'd just turned 26 — and he was celebrating like a man who knew exactly what came next.
Two days later, he was in Manchester. And by Friday morning, the deal was done.
£64 million and a fresh start
Manchester City have officially announced the signing of the Ghana international from Bournemouth for a fee that could reach £64 million. It's a club-record sale for the Cherries, and their latest major departure in what's been a remarkable 18 months of player trading on the south coast.
Semenyo joins on a five-and-a-half-year contract through to 2031. He'll wear the number 42 shirt — the same jersey once worn by Yaya Touré, another man who understood what it meant to carry expectation at the Etihad.
"I am so proud to have joined Manchester City," Semenyo said in his first interview as a City player. "I have watched City over the last decade under Pep Guardiola, and they have been the dominant team in the Premier League as well as achieving amazing things in the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup."
He added: "My best football is yet to come, I am sure of that."
The path from Bristol to the Etihad
There's something fitting about Semenyo's journey. Born in London to Ghanaian parents, he started out at Bristol City before loan spells at Bath City, Newport County and Sunderland toughened him up. Bournemouth spotted the potential in 2023, paying £10 million — a price that now looks like highway robbery.
In 110 appearances for the Cherries, he scored 32 goals and provided 13 assists. This season alone, he's netted 10 times in the league, making him the third-highest scorer in the division. Direct, powerful, capable on either flank — he's exactly the profile Guardiola has been craving.
Director of Football Hugo Viana didn't hide his enthusiasm: "He has huge quality. Two great feet, pace, power, a habit of influencing games and, importantly, real room for growth and development."
Viana added: "He made it clear to us immediately that it was City he wanted to join. His enthusiasm for this football club has been clear throughout the process."
Why now?
City are six points behind Arsenal and stuck in a rut — three consecutive draws against Sunderland, Chelsea and Brighton have stalled their title charge. The attack has lacked spark. Haaland aside, goals have been hard to come by.
Semenyo changes that dynamic. Unlike Jeremy Doku or Savinho, he doesn't just threaten — he finishes. And with City still competing on four fronts, Guardiola needed reinforcements.
Pep confirmed Semenyo could debut as early as Saturday against Exeter in the FA Cup. "He will be selected, for sure," Guardiola said in his pre-match press conference. "Everybody knows his quality. He knows the Premier League and many clubs wanted him, but he decided to join us. I am pleased."
What Bournemouth lose
Andoni Iraola's side have become experts at developing talent and selling high. Solanke went to Spurs for £65m. Kerkez to Liverpool. Huijsen to Real Madrid. Zabarnyi to PSG. Now Semenyo.
The Cherries will reinvest — Leicester's Abdul Fatawu Issahaku is reportedly a target — but replacing a player in this kind of form, mid-season, is never straightforward.
Still, that's Bournemouth's problem now. For Semenyo, the next chapter begins at the Etihad.
And judging by that final goal against Spurs, he left the south coast exactly the way he wanted to: on a high, on his birthday, with the fans on their feet.
Football, sometimes, writes its own stories.
