Antoine Semenyo’s Erling Haaland admission in 2024 was the ultimate Manchester City transfer hint | OneFootball

Manchester City fans should have seen a move coming over a year ago, with Antoine Semenyo issuing a glowing review of Etihad Stadium star Erling Haaland.

With Semenyo now officially unveiled as a City player following the completion of his £62.5 million transfer from Bournemouth, past comments from the Ghanaian international have resurfaced that, in hindsight, read like a subtle nod towards his eventual destination.

Long before rumours, formal negotiations, release clauses, or medicals entered the conversation, the forward had already made clear his admiration for one of Pep Guardiola’s most important players.

Semenyo’s arrival at the Etihad concludes a saga that gathered pace rapidly in recent weeks, with City accelerating talks, agreeing favourable payment terms with Bournemouth, and tying the attacker down to a five-and-a-half-year contract running until the summer of 2031.

The move further underlines Guardiola’s desire to add a physically dominant, output-driven wide forward to complement existing options such as Jeremy Doku, Savinho, and Oscar Bobb. And now embedded in City’s attack, Semenyo will have opportunity to train and play alongside the very striker he once described as the benchmark for modern forwards.

Speaking back in June 2024 with ‘Earn Your Stripes‘, Antoine Semenyo spoke of the “aura” that is given off by Erling Haaland when opponents come up against the City centre-forward.

“[Erling] Haaland is number one. You see it on TV that he’s scoring all these goals and think surely he’s not like this in person… that man is TALL. My goodness,” Semenyo admitted.

The Ghanaian international continued, “Tall, strong, fast, can finish. He’s got everything you need as as striker.”

Reflecting on coming up against the Citizens, Semenyo said, “I remember Man City are bopping and they bop it anyway and then Ruben Dias just wraps the ball to him and it’s so high and I thought how is he going to deal with this and then he just took it on his chest.

“I’m thinking ‘ Hmm – Haaland the man’. The aura he has, when he’s on the pitch if you don’t mark him he’s going to score. Everyone is trying to mark him and even when you mark him he still scores.

“I remember watching him and thinking this is the kind of striker I want to be.”

Those remarks now carry added significance given Antoine Semenyo’s decision to join City despite strong interest from Liverpool, Manchester United, and Chelsea earlier in the process. As previously reported, the move was driven less by finances and more by the opportunity to work under Guardiola, compete for major honours, and operate alongside elite-level players.

From Manchester City’s perspective, Semenyo’s mentality and admiration for world-class standards align closely with the profile they seek when investing heavily in first-team reinforcements.

His comments on Erling Haaland highlight not only respect, but an ambition to reach the very highest level – something Guardiola will look to harness immediately.

With the transfer now complete and the forward expected to be integrated swiftly and a potential debut on the horizon in the FA Cup third round against Exeter City, attention will turn to how quickly Semenyo can translate that admiration into chemistry on the pitch.