We analyse the data, with managers selling Semenyo, Foden and Cherki in big numbers ahead of Saturday’s deadline
The Scout analyses the data to discuss what to do with Manchester City midfielders in Fantasy Premier League after the arrival of Antoine Semenyo (£7.6m) from AFC Bournemouth.
Antoine Semenyo has already made an impact by scoring and providing an assist on his debut in Man City’s 10-1 win over Exeter City in the FA Cup last weekend.
But it remains to be seen whether he’ll be thrown straight into Pep Guardiola’s starting XI against Manchester United in Gameweek 22.
The Spaniard’s infamous rotation over his time at Man City means Fantasy managers can simply afford to take nothing for granted when it comes to his starting line-ups.
One thing does seem very likely, though – Semenyo is no longer the guaranteed 90-minute starter he was for Bournemouth over the last few seasons.
The Ghana international is intriguingly both the ninth most-bought player ahead of Saturday’s 11:00 GMT deadline AND the third most sold.
Meanwhile, fellow Man City midfielder Phil Foden (£8.7m) is the most-sold player, with over 339,000 managers moving him on, while Rayan Cherki (£6.8m) is the seventh most-sold player, with 131,000+ sales.
So what should you do with Man City midfielders? Here, The Scout investigates.
Which Man City players will be affected by Semenyo’s arrival?
Although Foden should remain a key figure in Guardiola’s side, it seems far less likely that he will play out wide as part of their front three and will instead feature as a central midfielder.
The England star was a huge success in Fantasy recently, producing four successive double-figure hauls over Gameweeks 13-16.
But three of those scores were when Foden was playing in an advanced attacking role due to an injury to Jeremy Doku (£6.4m).
Prior to that spell, Foden had one goal and one assist to his name over the first 12 Gameweeks.
While Foden’s versatility doesn’t completely rule him out of contention for the wide roles, it seems more likely that Semenyo will instead battle Doku and Cherki for a place on Guardiola’s teamsheet if Man City continue with their 4-3-3 formation.
The likes of Savinho (£6.9m), Oscar Bobb (£5.1m) and Omar Marmoush (£8.3m) do provide further competition although, having managed a mere 12 starts, no goals and four assists between them, they have been peripheral figures.
Certainly, in terms of output alone, it’s clear to see that Cherki has had a major impact on Man City’s attack in his debut campaign in Fantasy.
Despite missing a handful of matches through injury, the Frenchman’s eight assists rank joint-top among all players this season in Fantasy.
Cherki has also scored twice which means that, when selected, he has been involved in 53 per cent of Man City’s goals.
That’s almost identical to the 54 per cent of Erling Haaland (£15.1m) and more than TWICE the totals of Doku, Foden and Tijjani Reijnders (£5.2m).
Man City’s key midfielders, 25/26
Player
G
A
Goal inv.
Cherki
2
8
53%
Doku
1
7
25%
Reijnders
5
2
25%
Foden
7
2
22%
Scroll across on mobile to see the full table
How does Semenyo compare with Man City’s other midfielders?
Semenyo’s statistics are indicative of his role as the focal point of a Bournemouth side who would use his pace to counter-attack their opponents.
As you can see from the table below, though, his goal conversion has significantly improved this season. In the 2024/25 campaign, Semenyo scored 11 goals, converting 8.8 per cent of his shots.
This season, however, he’s already scored 10 goals thanks to a 20.4 per cent conversion rate. As a result, he’s averaging a goal every 180.0 minutes in 2025/26 – more than 100 minutes faster than last season.
Semenyo’s last two seasons
Season
Mins/shot
Goal conv.
Mins/goal
2024/25
25.6
8.8%
290.8
2025/26
36.7
20.4%
180.0
Scroll across on mobile to see the full table
When assessed against Man City’s other key midfielders, Semenyo’s finishing skills again catch the eye, with his goal conversion and minutes per goal both superior.
What’s also crucial here is that Semenyo’s average of 36.7 minutes per shot this season is near-identical to Foden, Reijnders and Cherki. This suggests he can offer a similar threat in terms of frequency of attempts in Guardiola’s set-up.
It’s notable that Foden and Reijnders – the two central midfielders – have a superior goal conversion rate to Cherki and Doku – and are clearly offering a big goal threat from deeper.
Of the two wingers, Doku’s 58.6 minutes per shot and lowly 5.3 per cent conversion rate are the worst on show, with the Belgian scoring just once this season.
Man City midfielders, goal threat
Player
Mins/shot
Goal conv.
Mins/goal
Foden
35.7
15.9%
224.4
Reijnders
36.6
13.5%
270.6
Cherki
39.9
9.1%
438.5
Doku
58.6
5.3%
1,114.0
Scroll across on mobile to see the full table
A final delve into the data focuses on big chances, which are situations where a player is expected to score.
Cherki’s creativity is very much in evidence here and shows why he’s collected those eight assists. The Frenchman has supplied 14 big chances for his team-mates, in addition to having one of his own.
That means Cherki has been involved in 15 big chances, at an average of one every 58.5 minutes.
That’s over 20 minutes quicker than Doku and more than TWICE as fast as Foden and Reijnders.
Man City midfielders, big-chance involvement
Player
Big chances
Big chances created
Big-chance inv.
Min/big-chance inv.
Cherki
1
14
15
58.5
Doku
4
10
14
79.6
Foden
7
6
13
120.8
Reijnders
6
4
10
135.3
Scroll across on mobile to see the full table
Semenyo, by contrast, has only created a combined 15 big chances over 2025/26 and all of last season. This indicates it’s his goal threat, and not his creativity, that Guardiola has brought him in for.
So, what should managers do with Man City midfielders?
Ultimately, Semenyo’s fate as a Fantasy asset now lies in the hands of Guardiola and there’s enough doubt around his minutes to be patient.
As well as rotation, there’s also the potential of tactics to consider with Guardiola.
If Man City continue with a 4-3-3 formation, Doku’s place on the left looks the most under threat from Semenyo’s superior goal threat, with Cherki’s growing influence on the opposite wing backed up by the underlying data.
Cherki’s own versatility could also allow Guardiola to play him alongside Foden in a 4-1-4-1 set-up, with both Doku and Semenyo deployed on the flanks.
Combined with the statistics, it’s Cherki who looks the best pick among the Man City midfielders for now.
While Foden backers look best-advised to look for a replacement, Semenyo’s goal threat shows he can come back into the conversation if he secures a place in the Man City XI.
If you want to avoid the Man City midfield altogether, then Arsenal’s Declan Rice (£7.3m) and Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimaraes (£7.2m) are the standouts in the same price bracket due to their potential for attacking returns and defensive contribution points.
