Bournemouth might have lost Dominic Solanke over the summertime, however early indications recommend Antoine Semenyo is all set to carry the assaulting problem.

Dominic Solanke’s 2023-24 project was the very best season of his profession. While he’d been exceptionally lethal in the English Championship, he’d never ever shown he might regularly score objectives in the Premier League. That altered last season, with Solanke scoring 19 objectives as the Cherries enjoyed their greatest top-flight surface in 6 years. His efficiencies made him a big-money transfer to Tottenham this summertime.

Replacing that level of output is hard. Enes Ünal was signed on loan as cover for Solanke in January – a relocation that Bournemouth made irreversible this summertime – however he has actually battled with injuries. Evanilson, who they signed for a club-record cost from Porto in August, is plainly the designated long-lasting successor to Solanke, however he will naturally require time to discover his feet.

In the meantime, then, Andoni Iraola requires his other forwards to carry a few of that assaulting problem. And the early indications are that a person man in specific, Antoine Semenyo, is poised to do simply that.

Semenyo, who is now a Premier League routine and Ghana worldwide, has actually withstood a non-traditional increase to the top of the video game. After being declined by numerous academies as a child, Semenyo was close to stopping football completely. Taken under the wing of Dave Hockaday, a previous Leeds supervisor, he discovered a home at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College’s football academy. Performances there made him a relocate to Bristol City in 2017, and from there his expert profession removed.

His time at Ashton Gate was marked by important loan spells at Newport County and Sunderland, however it was under Nigel Pearson in Bristol that he truly shone. After one and a half exceptional seasons, Bournemouth came knocking in January 2023.

Semenyo’s launching project on the south coast was chequered with injuries, however he truly prospered last season under Iraola and appears to have actually taken his video game to an even much better level this term.

A flexible and explosive forward, Semenyo is most in the house playing off the right, however can playing anywhere throughout the front 3. He moonlighted as Bournemouth’s centre-forward in their opening video game of the season versus Nottingham Forest to great result, scoring late to save a point.

But he’s been electrical on the extreme right. What stands apart right away when taking a look at Semenyo’s early-season production is his shot volume. The Ghanian has actually fired off 17 shots in his 3 video games, more than anybody else in the league, consisting of the shot beast himself Erling Haaland (13).

That’s a rate of 5.7 shots per 90 minutes for Semenyo, which is practically double what he handled throughout 2023-24 (3.0). Yes, we’re handling a little sample size here so that rate is not likely to remain that high however it does indicate the reality that he’s had the ability to enter more unsafe positions. It likewise highlights an increased self-confidence and an awareness that somebody requires to change the assaulting risk that Solanke supplied in 2015.

Speaking of entering unsafe locations, his touches in the opposition box have actually likewise leapt up substantially from in 2015, with Semenyo including a box-crashing aspect to his video game. Late encounters package while the ball is on the opposite wing have actually been a function of his early matches in 2024-25.

What sets Semenyo apart is his capability to carry on at speed while keeping control. That makes him among the most unsafe ball-carriers in the league.

He leads all gamers this season for overall shots following a ball bring (running with the ball for a minimum of 5 metres), with 7. Jinking inside on to his left foot has actually been a typical sight for Semenyo so far, and his capability to style shooting chances for himself is at least partially how he’s handled to try many shots currently.

With an additional 4 possibilities laid on for colleagues, Semenyo has actually developed 11 shooting chances in general following his brings – more than anybody else in the league.  

Semenyo not just utilizes his great ball reaching create possibilities at the sharp end of the pitch, however it’s likewise a terrific tool for advancing his side up the pitch. Semenyo has actually finished 25 progressive brings (moving with the ball a minimum of 10m upfield) this season for Bournemouth, a tally just main protector Illia Zabarnyi can much better (32), and it ought to be stated that protectors constantly rank extremely in this classification offered they have a lot more area to deal with.

Excluding protectors, just 2 Premier League gamers – Jérémy Doku (1,083m) and Mateo Kovacic (683m) – have actually carried on an additional general range than Semenyo (654m) this season.

Under Iraola, Bournemouth have actually embraced an extreme design of play, seeking to push challengers high up the pitch and make use of turnovers with direct attacks.

When they win the ball back, they assault rapidly – getting the ball forward quicker (2.14 metres/second) than any other Premier League side – and often try to find Semenyo to do the damage. So far this season, he’s gotten the the majority of passes (86), most forward passes (46) and most passes getting in the last 3rd (17) of all Bournemouth gamers.

From there his capability to carry on at speed and his impulse to shoot rapidly suited Iraola’s tactical plan. Eight of his 17 shots have actually can be found in shift, a greater overall than anybody else in the department. In other words: he plainly gets the memo.

Semenyo has actually been the centerpiece of a Bournemouth group that have actually come flying out the blocks. With 5.85 anticipated objectives they are 3rd behind just Man City (7.11) and Liverpool (7.10) for assaulting risk and they stay unbeaten through 3 video games.

At the heart of that is Semenyo, who looks primed for a huge season.

He began 25 video games in the league last term however finished simply 10 of them. Having played every minute of Bournemouth’s early project, there are indications that he’s becoming their primary man in attack.

If his early-season type is anything to pass, Bournemouth might have another star on their hands. Unfortunately, that most likely suggests they may have a difficult time keeping hold of him for a lot longer.

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