Adebayor's key advice to Semenyo: "Believe in your quality and play without pressure"

Some advice is worth more than any tactics board, and this is one of those cases. Emmanuel Adebayor, the former Arsenal and Manchester City striker, has given Antoine Semenyo a simple but powerful message: trust your talent and play without pressure. Nothing more, nothing less.

The Togolese forward, who knows exactly what it means to wear the sky blue shirt, revealed that Semenyo has been reaching out to him often since his move to City from Bournemouth in January. According to Adebayor, the Ghanaian keeps asking him how to improve different parts of his game.

He always asks me: 'Big brother, how can I do this? How can I work on that?' I keep telling him to stay calm, keep working hard and believe in his quality.Emmanuel Adebayor

And he didn't stop there. Adebayor went further, reminding Semenyo of something that's easy to forget once you land at a big club: nobody signs you by accident.

If Manchester City bought you, the club had 50 or 100 meetings before deciding to bring you in. You have the talent, so believe in your quality and play without pressure.Emmanuel Adebayor

Semenyo's own journey backs up that confidence. The forward signed a five and a half year contract with City in January, after scoring 10 Premier League goals for Bournemouth in the first half of last season. Before that, his path ran through Bristol City, Bath City, Newport County and Sunderland: no shortcuts, everything built step by step.

Since arriving in Manchester, his impact has been immediate, and this season he remains a regular fixture in the attack under new manager Enzo Maresca. Adebayor has no doubt Semenyo can become the standout player in a squad packed with established internationals.

He's new to the Man City squad and he's playing alongside big players, but it's going to come. At some point, he'll become the best and a key player for the team.Emmanuel Adebayor

The recent numbers back that up. Last Saturday, Semenyo scored two goals and added an assist in City's 5-3 win over Sunderland, his first Premier League goals of the season. The 26 year old had already provided two assists in the first four league matches and has started all five games so far.

Ghana short on experience against Ivory Coast

Adebayor's comments came just as Ghana prepared for their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Ivory Coast, with the Black Stars missing several key players. Semenyo, Mohammed Kudus, Baba Rahman and Jordan Ayew all withdrew from the squad, and the former striker warned that those absences would cost the team the kind of experience that often makes the difference in games of that magnitude.

Ghana has good players, but there's no match without experienced players. Kudus gives confidence to the younger ones. In a classic like Ghana against Ivory Coast, you need someone to say: 'Guys, don't panic. It's 90 minutes. Stay focused, do your job and then go home.'Emmanuel Adebayor

The former Togo captain, who now lives in Ghana, also revealed that he played a part in Auxerre defender Marvin Senaya's decision to choose Ghana over Togo. Senaya was eligible to represent both national teams and received call ups from each in March, before finally committing to the Black Stars.

I told him this was the only chance he had. Ghana had already qualified for the World Cup, so I told him he had to go because it could be the most important tournament of his life.Emmanuel Adebayor

Adebayor, who led Togo to the 2006 World Cup, said Senaya sought his advice before making the decision.

I'm like his godfather. He always listens to my advice and takes it seriously.Emmanuel Adebayor

Senaya went on to play all four of Ghana's matches at the World Cup, though he was injured in the round of 16 defeat to Colombia, an injury he is still recovering from.