Serie A star makes vow about ‘friend’ Antoine Semenyo and moment Morgan Rogers clicked

Antoine Semenyo is smashing it – but I hope I can come up against him one day and keep him quiet.

That is the verdict of Udinese star Jordan Zemura, who was one of many alumni of a bygone Bournemouth era to be thriving in Europe.

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The 26-year-old was part of the Cherries’ promotion-winning side in 2021/22 that secured the club’s return to the Premier League.

Zemura spent the majority of that campaign wrestling with then-Leeds United loanee Leif Davis for gametime at left-back.

The Zimbabwe international ultimately won the battle and continued with Bournemouth in the top-flight, while Davis joined Ipswich Town.

However, Zemura – who has since spent the past three years in Italy’s Serie A – was keen to credit his ex-teammate for his development.

“Great player,” he said of Davis during Udinese’s international media days event. “There’s a lot of things that I picked up from him.

“He probably doesn’t even know it to be fair. But we were competing against each other.

“Without him being there, I definitely wouldn’t have had that competition to be where I am now.

“He came from Leeds, so obviously, not like he was always going to make it. But his talent was always there.

“So I guess it was just manager’s preference at the end of the day. But, there’s so much stuff that me and him… just some training and seeing the way he does certain things and stuff like that.”

Zemura started in all but one of his 33 Championship appearances in the 2021/22 season, forming such a strong partnership on the left flank with Jaidon Anthony that a young Morgan Rogers struggled to get a look in.

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Rogers has ‘crazy catalogue of finishing’

The now-Aston Villa superstar arrived at the Vitality Stadium on the second of his three loans away from Manchester City in August 2021.

However, Rogers was sent back to the Etihad at the midway point of the season after making just one Championship start.

“He was young, though”, Zemura added, defending the 12-cap England international.

“Morgan, at the time, was like 19, but finishing was unbelievable, like left foot, right foot.

“I always used to say that he’s got like a crazy catalogue of finishing, in terms of either smashing it or finessing it.

“But as soon as it clicked, like I just knew that, yeah, ‘You’re going to do well for yourself, man!'”

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Semenyo is ‘smashing it’

The following season, Zemura made 19 Premier League appearances, but a contract dispute meant he was made to train with the under-21s and didn’t feature at all after a 3-2 defeat to Arsenal in March.

His final partner down the left in a Bournemouth shirt was Semenyo, who has since made Champions League history after completing a £62.5million move to Man City in January.

“Even Ants, I’ve known him since we were younger,” Zemura continued to talkSPORT. “Just played against each other when he was young, like 18, 17. He was at Bristol City.

“And he’s not far from where I live, so yeah, that’s my good friend, man.”

On Semenyo’s Man City move: “Oh, smashing it, absolutely. So I hope I can come up against him one day and then try to keep him quiet.”