The primary reason Guardiola signed Semaño for a total of £64 million was to develop a secondary scoring option.

Guardiola and Manchester City are a perfect match; the manager has delivered 18 trophies to the club. Naturally, the club’s leadership fully supports Guardiola, and whenever he requests a player, Manchester City spares no effort to meet his tactical demands. Just a week after the winter transfer window opened, City spent a total of £64 million to sign 26-year-old Ghanaian winger Semaño from Bournemouth.

So the question arises: why would Manchester City sign Semaño at a high price when they already have Mahrez, who shares similar traits?

The answer is that Guardiola wants to establish a reliable second scoring threat at Manchester City. The main attacking focus is Haaland, the Norwegian striker known for his speed and counter-attacking prowess; this season, his heading ability has also improved. However, City recently suffered three consecutive draws, with Haaland scoring only one penalty in four matches. When closely marked, Haaland tends to be ineffective; he lacks long-range shooting and ball-carrying skills and is not strong when playing with his back to goal. Mahrez excels at dribbling but lacks scoring consistency. Semaño is proficient with both feet and matches Mahrez’s dribbling ability but is far superior in finishing. In the Premier League scoring charts, Haaland leads with 20 goals, while Semaño ranks third with 10 goals. With Semaño, Manchester City gains a dependable scoring option beyond Haaland, addressing the tactical weakness of lacking a steady second scorer. Semaño’s ambidexterity allows him to rotate with Mahrez on the left wing or play on the right wing alongside him, creating a dual-wing threat.

At 26 years old and standing 1.85 meters tall, Semaño’s dominant foot is hard to identify, making it tougher for defenders to predict his moves. His transfer market value is estimated at €55 million. This season, he started all 20 of Bournemouth’s Premier League matches, contributing 10 goals and 3 assists. Before joining Manchester City, Semaño helped Bournemouth secure a 3-2 victory over Tottenham by scoring the winning goal, marking a perfect farewell to the Cherries.