FORMER Newport County AFC loan star Antoine Semenyo is now taking the Premier League by storm with AFC Bournemouth, but he admits he almost turned his back on football for good after being rejected by Crystal Palace at the age of 16.

Semenyo, who excelled on loan with County during the 2018-2019 season, helped Bournemouth to a stunning 3-0 win at Manchester United last weekend.

It was a fourth win in five games for the Cherries as they climbed away from the relegation zone in the top flight and Semenyo was voted player of the month for November by the club’s fans.

After going to the World Cup with Ghana last year and securing a £10m move to the Premier League from Bristol City, Semenyo is riding high.

But it wasn’t always the case for the 23-year-old forward, whose younger brother, Jai, is on the books at Cardiff City.

“It was definitely tough,” he said when recalling the end of his Palace dream.

“I love the game; I'm passionate about it. At the time I thought I was going to get signed if I'm being honest. But that didn't happen, and it was heartbreaking. You learn from these experiences, though, and they shape you.”

After being convinced to attend an open trial, Semenyo worked with former Leeds United coach Dave Hockaday at his college set-up in Swindon before following him to Bristol and then catching the eye with his performances for Michael Flynn’s Exiles side – particularly in the FA Cup win over Leicester City in January 2019.

“The thing for me is hard work,” he added. “I know I've got ability and raw talent so I just want to showcase to everyone what I can do.”

Reflecting on a whirlwind 12 months, Semenyo told the Daily Mirror: “It’s been really good. I've enjoyed every moment; the good and the bad. I feel like there's a lot of me that I want to show everyone, so I just need to keep going.

“Everyone's very family-orientated here and that was one of the things that drew me to the club. Everyone made me feel welcome when I came, and I've really felt the love.

“I feel like we’ve got such a good team, but a lot of people underestimate us because of the first couple of games. We'll surprise a lot of people if we show what we can do. I think we can definitely finish a lot higher in the table.”