Selling £200 million, he was left alone, Semeny gave Bournemouth to the Premier League

When a £200 million first-team player leaves in the summer, Bournemouth fans must be worried that the worst will happen.

But keeping Antoine Semenyo proved to be an absolute trick, and the Ghanaian winger has been the driving force for their climb to second place in the Premier League.

In the early morning of October 4, the 25-year-old player scored twice, helping Bournemouth defeat Fulham 3-1, leaving only one point away from the leader Liverpool in the standings. The goal to equalize the score was very special. Semen took the ball from the left wing, threw the defender away, took the ball to the bottom line, and then shot the ball from a very small angle between Fulham goalkeeper Leno's legs.

Then he assisted Eustin Cruivet to score and scored a goal in the injury stoppage time counterattack.

This brings him to 6 league goals this season, second only to Haaland, who scored 8 goals in the scorer list.

Since early May, he has been involved in the number of goals (8 goals and 4 assists) in the entire Premier League.

This is a rare achievement for this player who was only selected by Bristol City at the age of 17.

Former England midfielder Jamie Redknapp said: "It was a stormy night and it was not suitable for playing football at all, but it was not important to Semenyo."

"He was like gliding on the court, with an incredible unique talent, and his performance was amazing."

"No difference for him, whether with his right foot or left foot."

Semenyo took Bournemouth to fly together

The Bournemouth first team almost half of the players left in the summer, and Semenyo has also been associated with Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. But he signed a five-year contract with Bournemouth on July 1.

It turns out that this is a great deal for the "Cherry Legion" as he is now one of the best players in the Premier League.

Last season, Semenjo scored double goals for the first time in his career - he scored 11 goals in the Premier League and 13 goals in various competitions.

This season, he has scored 6 goals in his first seven Premier League games and has three assists.

After the game, the reporter asked whether Semenyue was the best state in his life.

"Yes, I'm willing to think so," he said, "I'm very grateful to God. He played a big role in my life and I'm reaping rewards now. So, yes, I'm always grateful to him."

Many clubs will regret not taking the risk of signing him before.

Semenyo was qualified to represent the Ghana national team because of his father, but he was really a London child. He was rejected by Arsenal, Tottenham and Millwall as a young man and eventually entered the West County Youth Training Academy, run by former Leeds United and Forest Green coach Dave Hocardi.

Bristol City signed him in 2017, but he was loaned to Bath, Newport and Sunderland until he entered the Bristol City first team in the 2020-21 season.

In January 2023, he transferred to Bournemouth for £10 million, and his form has been improving since then.

"I think he is a confident player," said Bournemouth head coach Anthony Ilaura.

"We grew up with him. He played in other leagues and finally entered the Premier League with his own efforts. He is crucial to us."

His data is simply overwhelming now. He has the highest success rate in the Premier League, the highest success rate in the offensive third-zone ball control, the second success rate in sprint, and the top five dribbling success rate. Of course, there are those goals.

teammate Eustin Cruivet said: "He's incredible. He shows this in every game now. He's simply world-class."

"Ilaura can coach any team"

If one day, Bournemouth coach Ilaura decides to leave, he will definitely become a hot coach.

In 2023, the 43-year-old Basque began to serve as the head coach of the "Cherry Legion".

Many people were unhappy at the time because Ilaura was not a household name, and he only coached AEK Larnaca, Milandez and Vallecano.

But the appointment was a significant success, with Bournemouth ranked 12th in the Premier League in the first season accepted by Elaura and 9th in the second season.

Before defeating Fulham, they had never been able to rank second in the Premier League after two rounds of a season.

Ilaura's work in maintaining a successful team is impressive, and now it looks like his tactics are enough to guarantee the team's combat effectiveness even if all the star players leave in the summer.

In the game against Fulham, there were only three defenders on the field, not four. This change changed the outcome of the game. In the 78th minute, he replaced a forward with a defender, and they were behind 0:1; in the 85th minute, he replaced a defender with a forward, and the team led 2:1.

"We have to take risks and send more offensive players, and this worked," said Ilaura. "The players have to play a big role, and today they did it."

Eustin Cruivet said, "He was incredible. If you look at the players who have left, you'll see how incredible it is that we can do what we are now."

"I always say that the train runs fast, all by the locomotive, and he took us on a crazy route. Our locomotive was amazing, so we followed him. ”

Redknapp said: “Ilara can coach any team in the world football world. ”

"He can improve the players and everything they do is exciting. While he is here, they have to enjoy his performance. As for how long can he stay here? Who knows? ”

"Can they continue to create incredible records? For example, entering the top six? They deserve this result, as long as the head coach is retained, everything is possible, because he is the club's most precious asset. ”

The Cherry Legion successfully passed the summer reconstruction period

Many people think Bournemouth ranked 9th last season, and its performance exceeded expectations. Some people even talked about their European qualifications this season.

However, what happened next was shocking. This summer, three of their four main players in the defense - Zabarney, Kelkez and Heysen, all transferred to join the top European clubs (the three joined Paris Saint-Germain and Leicester respectively. Verpool and Real Madrid) exchanged Bournemouth for nearly £150 million in transfer fees. They also failed to keep goalkeeper Kepa, who was loaned from Chelsea last season, who transferred to Arsenal forever.

If their striker Ouattara switched to Brentford, they have recovered more than £200 million this summer.

Their defense this season consists of new signings and original substitutes.

En signed left-back Truffer and central defender Senesi joined in 2022 have played in all the first seven Premier League rounds.

Central defender Diakite, who transferred from Lille, participated in six Premier League games, and four other defenders started at least one league game.

Goalkeeper Petrovic has transferred from Kepa's old club Chelsea, and has played all the games so far.

In the first six Premier League rounds, Bournemouth has the first ball possession rate in the Premier League. They participated in more confrontations and also grabbed the ball the most times in the Premier League. Their players also made more sprints and gave the opponent the most in defense, the Premier League first. They also took the lead in long passes and clearances. So where will they go in the end? "We remain humble because the season is long," Eustin Cruivitt said. "But who knows, who knows? We strive to achieve the best results possible. ”