Antoine Semenyo Takes Man City Icon’s Shirt Number

Antoine Semenyo has completed his move to Manchester City — and his squad number has now been confirmed as No 42.

The Ghana international joined Pep Guardiola’s side from Bournemouth on a five-and-a-half-year deal and will wear the same shirt number once worn by club legend Yaya Toure.

Semenyo has worn the No 24 shirt at Bournemouth for the past three years, having previously worn 11, 18 and 42 during his club career.

No 42 was Semenyo’s first-ever squad number when he broke into the first team at Bristol City and he appears to be fond of that number, having worn it while playing for Ghana — although he has also played at international level with 11, 15, 17, 19, 22 and 25 on the back of his shirt.

What shirt number will Antoine Semenyo wear at Manchester City?

After completing his January transfer to the Etihad Stadium, Semenyo — who rejected interest from Tottenham — was unable to keep the No 24 shirt. Josko Gvardiol currently occupies that number at Man City and mid-season squad number changes are not permitted.

Therefore, Semenyo could only take a shirt number that was unoccupied at City at the time of his arrival. Those options included 1, 2, 10, 12, 15, 17, 23 and 28 — plus all the numbers between 33 and 99 apart from 45, 47, 52, 75, 78, 82, 87 and 93.

As 42 is the number Semenyo began his career with, many people expected that to be his choice. That prediction has now been confirmed, with City revealing that he will indeed wear the shirt.

Semenyo takes Yaya Toure’s Man City squad number

No Man City player has worn the No 42 at the club since the departure of legendary midfielder Yaya Toure in 2018.

Toure, who is now 42 years old, is widely regarded as one of City’s greatest ever players. He scored 82 goals in 316 games for City after joining from Barcelona in 2010 and won seven trophies during his time in Manchester.

 

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Why did Semenyo choose the No 42 shirt?

Semenyo confirmed that his decision was rooted in personal history.

“It was my first number at Bristol City when I first signed and that always stuck with me,” Semenyo explained.

“It was either 42 or 24, and 24 wasn’t available so I went back to my first number. That was the inspiration behind it.”

The choice brings his career full circle, with the winger returning to the number that marked his breakthrough into senior football before his rise through the Premier League.

Who else has worn No 42 for Man City?

Although no player has had Man City’s No 42 squad number since Toure left in 2018, the shirt has been worn by two other first-team players in the club’s history.

After Toure, City’s most memorable No 42 was Bradley Wright-Phillips, who played 40 times for the club across the 2004/05 and 2005/06 seasons.

Glen Whelan also wore No 42 in his one and only senior appearance for City, which came in a 2-0 win over Welsh side TNS in a UEFA Cup qualifier in 2003.

Semenyo’s career in numbers

Squad numbers are not the only numbers City fans will care about when it comes to judging their next major signing.

Semenyo has delivered at least 10 direct goal contributions (goals and assists) in each of the past three Premier League seasons. He has 10 goals and three assists in 20 games for Bournemouth so far this term, having produced 19 goals and seven assists over the previous two campaigns.

Should he make a similar contribution for City, he should prove to be a hit among fans, regardless of the number on the back of his shirt. Meanwhile, it could prove very hard to replace Semenyo at the Vitality Stadium, but Bournemouth are said to be eyeing a loan move for Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri.