In search of the next Semenyo: How clubs are turning to non-League in the hunt for elite talent | OneFootball

Antoine Semenyo’s ascent from non-League to Manchester City is set to hit a new peak next month when he features in the Champions League round of 16, weeks after a £62.5 million switch from Bournemouth. According to NY Times, his path is sharpening elite clubs’ focus on non-League talent.

He is set to join Steve Finnan in the rare group to have played in the National League, all four professional tiers and Europe’s top competition. The route has echoes in Jamie Vardy and early steps for Alex Scott, Jarred Bowen, Ollie Watkins and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Premier League scouts are increasingly present at non-League grounds and analytics are being used to filter prospects. Peter Chadwick, founder of Non-League Gems, expects this rocky path to become more common over the next five years, noting that more than 100 players step up to the EFL each season.

His firm has built predictive models and staged showcases that have delivered more than 20 EFL moves, with around 50 players supported overall. Names tipped include Abdul Abdulmalik and Kyron Gordon, plus Fylde’s 19-year-old Danny Ormerod, who has 19 goals in 25 league matches.

Non-League is also a development tool for academies, helped by a new rule permitting 28-day loans this season, though first-loan nerves and status anxiety remain. Coaches argue under-21s football, however polished, cannot replicate senior demands, so more may yet follow the Semenyo route.

Source: NY Times