Antoine Semenyo says the achievement of surpassing Tony Yeboah’s long-standing scoring record in the English Premier League has given him greater motivation to inspire the next generation of Ghanaian footballers.
The 26-year-old forward enjoyed his most productive Premier League campaign last season, scoring 17 goals to become the Ghanaian with the highest goal tally in a single season in the competition.
His tally surpassed Yeboah’s previous record of 12 goals, which the former Ghana international scored in the 1994/95 and 1995/96 Premier League seasons.
Semenyo said Yeboah was among the players who shaped his ambitions while growing up, alongside former Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan and former Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba.
“Tony Yeboah is a player I always looked up to. Asamoah Gyan too, (former Ivory Coast star) Didier Drogba, the names are endless,” Semenyo told CNN Sports.
Wants to inspire young players
Having now achieved a feat previously held by one of his childhood heroes, Semenyo said he hoped his performances would encourage young players in the same way Yeboah and other prominent forwards inspired him.
“When they were playing in the Premier League, scoring every week, you wanted to the same thing as a young kid. To think I’m doing it now, I’m grateful to God. It’s a dream of mine to have kids looking up to me, following in my footsteps. It gives me more motivation to keep going,” he added.
Semenyo’s rise has also attracted attention ahead of the new Premier League season, with the England-born Ghanaian making an impression under new City manager Enzo Maresca.
The forward said he had been encouraged by Maresca’s early work with the team and the players’ response to his tactical approach.
“He’s been great so far,” Semenyo said of his new coach. “He’s joined with us very, very quickly, tactically. You can see it’s very similar with our last manager. It’s going to take some time to get used to, but everyone’s buying into it.
“You can see he’s driven and wants to win everything, like how we do as a team. He’s going to implement what he needs to, and we’ve still got experienced players from the seasons before. That will help lead us to hopefully victory in all the trophies this year.”
With his record-breaking campaign now behind him, Semenyo enters the new season with expectations heightened and another opportunity to build on his progress in English football.
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