Manchester United have received clarity on Antoine Semenyo as the Bournemouth man looks Manchester City-bound, but he could soon have a sobering realisation he already knew about.
It goes without saying that on a purely surface level, choosing Man City over Man Utd, especially for a 25-year-old attacker, makes a lot of sense.
City are immediately competing for trophies, while Man United are in the midst of a rebuilding job where setbacks are a part of the journey.
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However, there is a flipside to this narrative, and it’s something Antoine Semenyo already knows about. Now, he might be about to realise it.
Antoine Semenyo’s sobering realisation about Man Utd decision
Semenyo could very well end this season as a Premier League winner, which blows any project United would have presented to him out of the water.
However, a career decision is more than just about the next six months, and it’s something Semenyo knew about when he looked at Kalvin Phillips.
Kalvin Phillips was the next great hope of England’s midfield when he was Marcelo Bielsa’s midfield general at Leeds.
He moved to Man City, where Pep Guardiola discards players he doesn’t like with abandon, because he can get a new one quite easily.
Phillips was an unfortunate casualty of the same, and Semenyo kept a keen eye on his predicament, as he is on record making an interesting statement about it.
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When Semenyo was the No. 10 for Bristol City, he came directly up against Phillips as a defensive midfielder for Leeds.
Semenyo said recently about the duel: “Yes, [Phillips is underrated]. I played in the No.10 that day and he gave me a tough day. He is a good player, but going to a team [Manchester City] with so many superstars, it’s unfortunate…”
Man Utd will move on quickly
If one thing is a guarantee under Ineos, it’s that they only go for fully committed players whose heart is set on moving to Old Trafford.
It happened with Liam Delap in the summer, then Viktor Gyokeres, and it ultimately landed them a boyhood fan in Benjamin Sesko, whose effort will never be faulted.
The same will be the case with Semenyo, who, at the surface level, is making a no-brainer decision, but it’s not as simple as that.
One factor about Kalvin Phillips written above is something realised on his own, but there are a couple of other things as well.
For example, Pep Guardiola’s future at City is undecided after this season, which means a new manager with new favourites, and a fresh set of ideas, meaning unpredictability.
Then there’s Guardiola’s coaching philosophy, which has seen Jack Grealish leave for Everton on loan to rediscover his love for football.
Of course, there’s a chance that Semenyo has just backed himself to succeed at City, in which case, kudos to him, but the flipside is getting ignored too easily.
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