Humble, powerful, ready - Semenyo returns to where World Cup rise began

It was the training ground moment that showed Antoine Semenyo was ready to take a breakthrough step in his career.

Mike Flynn was watching on as one of the biggest players in his Newport County squad had aimed a shoulder barge at the teenager signed on loan from Bristol City without a senior start in professional football to his name.

"He just held him off the ball without a problem," recalls the former Newport boss. "You knew he was a special kid. He was raw but we'd already seen he had talent and how good he was off both feet.

"But in that moment, you knew he was ready. We started him the next game."

Eight years on, Semenyo has been on the exact same training pitch on the outskirts of the south Wales city as Ghana based themselves in Newport to prepare for the World Cup.

No longer the rejected striker trying to find his way in the game, Semenyo has returned a £62.5m attacking talent tipped to shine for the Black Stars when they face Panama , England and Croatia in in Group L later this month.

Now he is the FA Cup final matchwinner for Manchester City and the great hope for Ghana to emulate their quarter-final finish in 2010, an instantly recognisable figure.

"Back then of course he was just a lad that's turned up on loan from Bristol City and who'd been playing non-league not too long before," says Wales midfielder Josh Sheehan , a Rodney Parade team-mate when Semenyo joined in 2018.