Sunderland should envy Bristol City and AFC Bournemouth: View | OneFootball

Highlights

Sunderland have had their fair share of exciting emerging talent come through in recent years, but the Black Cats should be envious of the performances Antoine Semenyo has displayed at both Bristol City and AFC Bournemouth, considering it didn't quite work out for him at the Stadium of Light.

The Ghanaian international had a brief 6-month loan spell at Sunderland in the latter half of the 2019/20 season, but didn't hit anywhere near the levels he's shown in recent years.

At the time of his Sunderland spell, Semenyo was just 20-years-old, and was coming off the back of a successful loan spell at Newport County the year before, so the step-up from League Two to League One made sense at the time.

Only featuring nine times in his short spell at the Stadium of Light, before the season was called to a halt by Covid-19 in March 2020, the forward returned back to Bristol City where the rest is history for the now Premier League player.

Sunderland finished 8th in League One that season, just missing out on the behind-closed-door play-offs, as the clubs decided to finish the season with a points-per-game basis.

How good was Semenyo at Bristol City?

Just to rub more salt in the wounds of Sunderland fans, after returning back to Ashton Gate, the tricky winger featured 50 times in all competitions, just one season later, earning him young player of the year at Bristol City.

His exciting form continued the following year and he featured 31 times for the Robins, scoring eight goals and assisting 12 in what is currently his best season to date.

Working under Nigel Pearson, who only recently departed his role as Bristol City manager, Semenyo was a sensation, with his performances at Bristol City earning him a place in Ghana's 2022 World Cup squad in Qatar, where he came off the bench in the defeats against Portugal and Uruguay.

How well is Semenyo doing at AFC Bournemouth?

His impressive performances in the Championship with Bristol City earnt the 23-year-old a move to the Premier League in the summer when Bournemouth snapped him up for a fee of around £10.5 million.

So far, the forward has shown exciting glimpses of his talent, having only started in seven games so far this season.

Semenyo has two goals to his name for Bournemouth, his first being a well-taken opener in a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.

His second goal, a clinical left-footed finish, was the vital equaliser in the Cherries 2-1 win against fellow relegation candidates Burnley, a win that took Andoni Iraola's side out of the relegation zone.

With the Cherries currently 16th in the Premier League, just four points ahead of 18th placed Sheffield United, Iraola's side will need some big performances if they are to stay in the top-flight come the end of the season.

The Spanish manager knows he can call upon the Ghanaian international, having shown some big praise for Semenyo's performances so far in a Bournemouth shirt. “Antoine has been very good. He has been playing really good, very aggressive," said Iraola.