Antoine Semenyo’s Move to Manchester City: A Mistake or a Masterstroke?

Kalvin Phillips is probably still regretting his choice to join Manchester City. Only like yesterday, the now 30-year-old Englishman was one of the Premier League’s most sought-after midfielders, a key part of Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds, and a starter for the England national football team.

He thought he would take his career to the highest level when he moved to the Etihad in 2022, for around £45 million, but his story became a warning.

Guardiola himself later said there was no place where Phillips fit.

According to the Catalan manager, “I visualise some things and visualise the team and things, and I struggle to see him.”
Loans followed, first to West Ham, then to Ipswich. Neither move revived his career in the way many hoped.
Today, he remains a City player only on paper, widely expected to leave permanently.
That context matters now, because Antoine Semenyo is standing at a similar crossroads.

Semenyo at 26, the moment of his life

Until his move to Manchester City, he recorded nine league goals and three assists for Bournemouth.

You could say he wrote his own farewell on 7 January, his 26th birthday. On that day, he came on against Tottenham Hotspur and scored a late winner that ended Bournemouth’s 11-game run without a win.

Shortly after that, the rumours started that Manchester City had triggered his release clause, with a £65 million move all but agreed.

This is a footballer in his prime joining Manchester City. But this is more than that.

Phillips, Rice and the lesson of choice

Arsenal’s Declan Rice, for example, is now in the big conversation with the “big boys.” But before now, he also had to choose between moving to the Etihad or Emirates.

The 26-year-old opted for the Gunners, and today, you could say it was the right decision for his career.
Rice joined Arsenal in 2023 for a British record £105 million. At the time, City were also interested, but he chose a project where he would be important.

Today, he is one of the faces of Arsenal’s title push, and was among the top 30 of the 2025 Ballon d’Or rankings. That is the comparison Semenyo cannot avoid.

What waits for Semenyo at City

Manchester City are no more the unstoppable team of before. As of January, 2026, their league form has been inconsistent.

Semenyo is going to compete with the likes of Haaland already the central striker, and wide positions already have other stars, all fighting for minutes

Many have done well under Guardiola, but some have not.  Semenyo’s strengths may fit City’s ideas, but will he start every week? Will he be given time to learn? Or does he become another expensive option used from the bench, as he fades slowly?

These are the questions.