Antoine Semenyo: Profiling the Celtic linked striker who’s firing at Bristol City

If you are a regular Twitter user and believe what the newspapers say, you’ll know of Celtic’s interest in upcoming Bristol City forward Antoine Semenyo. 

The twenty two year old was initially linked with the Hoops back in January however in recent weeks, Semenyo’s agent has provided more information on this front. He spoke with Football Scotland saying:

“I had a conversation with Strachan who rang up to ask little bits of info on the player and a bit about how I found him and what he's like as a lad”

“That was it. If it's something they're going to do in the summer window I'm not sure but it's nice to know that his talents are going as far as Scotland to one of the great institutions in world football”

“There's not really much more to say than that”

Prior to these comments, it was already known that Celtic had sent scout Craig Strachan to watch Semenyo in February and it is encouraging to see these developments have been followed up. In addition, Celtic being dubbed as ‘one of the great institutions in world football’ by Semenyo’s agent can only be a positive. 

Beginning his career at Bristol City, Semenyo came through the academy at the English club before moving to Bath City on a six month loan as an eighteen year old. 

He scored 3 goals in 14 appearances for the non-league side before moving to Newport County in the summer of 2018 for yet another six month loan. Semenyo scored 6 goals and registered 2 assists in his 32 appearances for the Exiles. 

The attacker returned to his parent club in the January of 2019 and after failing to impose himself on the team, he was shipped out on loan the next January to Sunderland.

However, Semenyo’s spell in the North East was relatively unsuccessful and it was in the 20/21 season for Bristol City where he finally managed to nail himself to the Robins’ starting eleven. 

Semenyo made 50 appearances in that campaign for City, scoring 5 goals and assisting 7. Furthermore in the current campaign, the twenty two year old has an impressive 6 goals and 8 assists in 23 appearances. He’s averaged a goal or assist every 110 minutes in the Championship, one of the toughest leagues around, making these numbers all the more admirable. 

As a player, Antoine Semenyo is a powerful striker who can adequately link the play. He likes to come deep to collect the ball and use his dynamic ball-carrying abilities to drive into the final third. 

As well as through the middle, Semenyo is also able to operate out wide having played on the left wing 25 times throughout his career. When on the flanks, he likes to make inward runs towards the box, either dropping the shoulder to get to the bye line or cutting inside and having a pop at goal. 

However, one aspect of his game Semenyo could look to improve is his finishing ability although if playing for a more dominant side like Celtic, the twenty two year old would undoubtedly get more chances to score and boost his goal tally. 

If turning out in front of a 60,000 capacity crowd every other week is not enough, the prospect of winning trophies and playing enticing, free-flowing attacking football would surely allure Semenyo to Glasgow. 

Furthermore, should Celtic manage to qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the 22/23 season, whether it be through the league or qualifiers, it would be an enormous factor in any player’s decision to move to the club. The chance to play in Europe’s premier club competition is unequivocally colossal. 

Manager Ange Postecoglou may also be an element in Antoine Semenyo’s decision to move North. We seen it with Matt O’Riley - the Englishman’s Father was quoted by The Athletic saying:

“Before signing, Matt said, ‘I’m going to have a chat with the manager first’.”

“He had a list of questions and then came out five minutes later and said ‘Yep, I’m going. I just know. He answered every question before I asked it’. He’s so happy about it.”

Adding to the point that potential Champions League football could draw Semenyo to Celtic, he may also look for a step up from Bristol City. At the time of writing, the Robins are 19th in the English Championship. 

Speaking of the Championship and Semenyo won the player of the month award for the division in January. He scored 3 goals and registered 3 assists in 5 appearances as his antics attracted the attention of many. This is proved with the fact that, according to Football Scotland, RB Salzburg are interested in Semenyo as are Nottingham Forest, who had a bid booted out on deadline day in January.

Although he was born in London, the twenty two year old is also eligible to represent Ghana and is set to be called up for the African nation for their World Cup qualifying double-header with Nigeria in March as of Bristol Live. 

This, combined with a reported £20 million price tag could be an off-putting component in a potential deal for Celtic. However, this has not deterred the Hoops in the past (at least in some instances) and with a potential stream of cash coming through potential Champions League qualification, Semenyo may not be as unaffordable as some believe. In addition, with just one year left on his contract at Bristol City come the summer, a price like the aforementioned seems somewhat astronomical. 

Moreover, Semenyo also offers the chance for Celtic to make some inducing profit, something the club have been no strangers to in the past with Kieran Tierney, Moussa Dembele and more recently, Kristoffer Ajer and Odsonne Edouard moving on for big sums of money after impressing in green and white. 

Ultimately, it is intriguing yet also encouraging to hear of Celtic’s interest in such a top young talent. Even if the Hoops don’t further pursue their interest, it is reassuring to know that the club are planning ahead for the summer, even at this stage.