What does Man City want by signing Semenyo?

31/12/2025 07:44:00 pandatv

A New Year’s present for Pep Guardiola’s team will most likely be a high-quality signing during the winter transfer window: Antoine Semenyo. What does Man City anticipate from bringing in this Ghanaian striker?

It’s not by chance that Semenyo is one of the Premier League’s hottest prospects. His tally of 9 goals this season ranks him third in the scoring charts, only behind Erling Haaland (19 goals) and Igor Thiago (11 goals). The 25-year-old’s contract release clause with Bournemouth is just £65 million, a sum enticing enough for top clubs like Man City, MU, Liverpool, and Chelsea.

A new weapon for Guardiola

Man City clearly understands what must be done to outmaneuver rivals in the Semenyo deal. Sporting director Hugo Viana and his team engaged Bournemouth early to finalize the transfer in the first days of the new year, ahead of Liverpool’s efforts. Semenyo’s arrival would significantly enhance the quality and depth of Man City’s attack, even though Guardiola remains pleased with Erling Haaland’s impressive scoring form and contributions from other forwards like Phil Foden and newcomer Rayan Cherki. The 25-year-old striker offers another strong attacking option, being effective on both left and right wings. His direct playing style, pace, and ability to create scoring chances for himself make Semenyo a formidable asset for Man City if the deal succeeds. He fits perfectly with Guardiola’s tactical shift from possession dominance to a more direct, fast counter-attacking style. In the short term, Semenyo’s presence will address Man City’s forward shortages as Omar Marmoush is still on duty with Egypt at AFCON, while Oscar Bobb and Jeremy Doku are sidelined with injuries.

Semenyo himself is very excited about Guardiola’s project, where he can immediately envision the glory of winning trophies. For Man City, signing Semenyo is a loud declaration of intent as a Premier League title contender this season. They missed out on Florian Wirtz, a player Guardiola highly admires, who went to Liverpool, and now they must do everything possible to outbid Klopp’s side for Semenyo.

Semenyo will be a quality new addition to strengthen Man City’s attacking depth

Focusing on defeating Sunderland

No matter how quickly the Semenyo transfer is completed, it’s unlikely the Ghanaian striker will immediately feature against Sunderland. Therefore, Guardiola will still rely on his current squad for the trip to The Light in the first match of the new year. When Man City take the field, they will already know the result of league leaders Arsenal. Regardless of whether they have a chance to claim the top spot, Guardiola and his team must try to extend their winning streak across all competitions to nine games.

One of the biggest questions for the starting lineup against Sunderland is whether Guardiola will start Rodri. He was only recently named on the bench in the win over Nottingham Forest but did not play a single minute. This shows Guardiola’s caution with a player who has a significant injury history like Rodri. The Spanish midfielder has appeared just 8 times for Man City this season, with his last appearance more than a month ago — a brief substitute outing in the win over Bournemouth in early November. During Rodri’s absence, Guardiola has built an ideal midfield with Nico Gonzalez gradually filling the gap left by the 29-year-old. This is why Guardiola might not rush to use Rodri in the upcoming Sunderland game, wanting to avoid overusing him. Rodri had played three consecutive matches in September against MU, Napoli, and Arsenal despite recently recovering from a knee injury.

Sunderland suffered a 3-0 defeat at Etihad over three weeks ago, but Le Bris’s team is formidable at home. Along with Arsenal, they remain unbeaten on their home ground so far this season. Can Man City become the first Premier League team to break through The Light fortress?

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