Now that whole pesky manager thing has been sorted, we’re back to getting Tottenham Hotspur transfer rumors. One name that has popped up repeatedly here and there is that of Bournemouth winger/forward Antoine Semenyo. London-based French journalist Sebastien Vidal tweeted today that Tottenham are “increasingly confident” that they can sign Semenyo in this window, with the player possibly commanding as much as a £60m transfer fee.
Semenyo’s one of those players where the eye test maybe tells the story more than the green bars. He had 11g+5a for a pretty decent Bournemouth side this past season, the team’s second highest scorer behind Justin Kluivert, and every time I got the opportunity to watch him play I always came away pretty impressed. The 25 year old English/Ghanaian dual-national winger kind of does it all — he’s two footed so can play on either side of the pitch, he has an explosive burst of pace, he can dribble, he can pass, and is pretty adept at getting his shot off. He also reads the ball well, and averaged a league-high 1.5 blocked passes/90 last season. The green bars don’t look particularly exciting, but he’s one of those players who seems to attract interest from managers who Just Know About Things™, like Thomas Frank.
That said, £60m is a lot of £. The tweet says that Semenyo is a backup option for Bryan Mbeumo who is still, I guess, set on Manchester United. I can certainly see Semenyo as a good option for Frank and Spurs next season, especially if Son Heung-Min decides to leave the club or is sold. His versatility will serve him well in Frank’s offense, as it has in Andoni Iraola’s, and it looks as though he’s ready to take a step up in competition to a Champions League side.
I don’t know if I like Antoine Semenyo for £60m, but I do like Antoine Semenyo and think he could be poised for a breakout season in 2025-26.