Born in London to Ghanaian parents Larry and Dela, Semenyo and his brother Jai grew up in Greenwich with a ball almost permanently attached to their feet.

It should be little surprise Semenyo is now so adept with both his right and left feet given his father, who played alongside Tony Yeboah in Ghana's top flight, encouraged him from a young age to kick "paper, a can, anything" with both feet.

By the age of six it came naturally to Semenyo - and the dream of becoming a professional footballer was born.

His talent was spotted and encouraged by his parents, who sent him on trials at Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Millwall before an eight-week trial at Crystal Palace aged 15.

None of those avenues proved successful.

At 16, Semenyo was deflated, disillusioned and ready to give up on football altogether.

Enter Hockaday.

Semenyo headed to a trial session at Bisham Abbey, later saying he only went to see where his fitness was compared to the other hopefuls. Little did he know that this particular trial would be the one to change the trajectory of his career.

"When I first came across him he was lost," Hockaday told BBC Sport.

"He looked lost. He talked lost. There was a vacancy in his eyes. There was no belief. He was looking for somebody to help find himself."

By chance, former Forest Green Rovers boss Hockaday was at Bisham Abbey that day and, upon arrival, was asked to help out with the trials Semenyo was taking part in.

He helped with some drills before observing a series of matches and was "surprised" when the teenager's name did not come up after.

"He didn't rip it up, didn't look anything particular, but he had moments and I believe that's what these trials are all about. I just saw a young lad who could deal with the football with both feet - inside, outside - without even thinking about it," Hockaday said.

"He wasn't in the greatest physical shape, but he moved well. He had a good pair of shoulders and he looked like physically he was going to become a specimen in the right environment."

Hockaday thought that was the last he had seen of Semenyo. But something had not quite sat right.

"I am good at spotting talent," he said. "I've described Antoine to his family as an itch that I just couldn't get rid of."

The itch needed to be scratched. Hockaday doesn't recall how, but in the weeks following he tracked down Semenyo's parents, explained to them who he was and said he'd like to help their son.

"We met up and somehow, in some way, they trusted their son into my hands. And that's when our relationship started."

Hockaday had seen something in Semenyo that no-one else had. But with the youngster struggling for confidence and belief, his talent needed to be nurtured.

"I think initially I had to earn his trust," said Hockaday.

"I was very passionate about how good I thought he could be. I thought this kid in the right environment could be a professional footballer.

"I believed in him, without a shadow of a doubt. I believed in him before he started believing in himself again."

Hockaday brought Semenyo into his team at South Gloucestershire and Stroud (SGS) College, who competed in the South West Counties League.

To ensure he could get to games, Hockaday would pick Semenyo up from Swindon - where he was living in digs with other professional football hopefuls - on a Saturday morning at 5am and drive him to matches.

"I had to bang a few times on the door sometimes to get him up," Hockaday said. "But we got him there, and we got him playing."

It didn't take long for Semenyo's confidence to grow, with Hockaday's two key words - hunger and belief - quickly becoming a mantra.

"That first season allowed him to believe in himself. He was playing against the top non-league players in the south west and they couldn't control him," said Hockaday.

"Once he started growing, he became this force of nature. He tested me and my coaching, because he was progressing at a great rate of pace."

Chats in the car on those early Saturday mornings were centred around football - and Semenyo soaked up every piece of advice he could.

"That just fed his hunger and it confirmed to me that this this lad would go through anything to get to where he wanted to get to," said Hockaday.

"The next season came where he joined SGS full-time. During the pre-season we played five or six pro teams and beat them all and nobody could handle Antoine - every team wanted to sign him or showed an interest in him."

By January 2018, Semenyo had signed his first professional contract with Bristol City, who trained at the same facility as SGS.

Semenyo might have signed for a Championship club but, still only 18 years old, he was immediately sent out on loan to non-league side Bath City.

Jerry Gill, their coach at the time, believes that step into men's football helped Semenyo become the physical player he is today.

"When he was playing with players of his own age he relied on the fact he would just be stronger than them - but when he came up against men he had to learn how to protect with his arm, shield the ball, spin and slide," said Gill.

Semenyo started as a striker but Gill moved him out wide and was impressed with his response to feedback.

"He was a sponge," said Gill. "He was accepted with the team - and that's not easy for a young lad coming on loan. His attitude had to be right and it was. He had that big smile on his face that you still see now."

Next came a loan move to League Two Newport County, for whom he scored three goals in 21 games across the first half of the 2018-19 season.

A couple of impressive FA Cup performances saw him heavily linked to Premier League side Chelsea - and prompted Bristol City to recall him.

Would this be Semenyo's moment to shine at a higher level? Not quite.

He was handed his first start by the play-off chasing Robins in March 2019 but was hooked before the hour mark with his team 1-0 down at home to Leeds.

A month later, with City trailing top-six rivals Derby, he was thrown on as a 33rd-minute substitute in search of an equaliser. They lost 2-0 - and Semenyo was sent off.

The false starts would continue - a relatively disappointing loan spell in League One with Sunderland the following season, managers coming and going at Ashton Gate and Semenyo failing to establish himself in the team.

It was the arrival of Nigel Pearson that seemed to change things.

Partly through choice and partly through necessity, with a wage bill badly in need of trimming, Pearson turned to youth. Semenyo, along with now Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott, was front and central.

As one of the few experienced pros remaining at the club, ex-Bradford City Nahki Wells would become a mentor to Semenyo during that time and recalls "a young player who was raw but full of talent".

"I remember being that guy he came and had chats with. I was almost like a big brother," Wells told BBC Sport.

"There's nothing he didn't have. He had the pace, the ability and a skill level that was underappreciated at the time.

"It was very hard to stop that. It was like a puzzle and he was just putting his pieces together to become this article that he is today."

Something had clicked. In 2021-22 - eight goals and 12 assists. In 2022-23 - eight goals and two assists.

Premier League clubs came sniffing, with Southampton and Crystal Palace - the club that had rejected him six years prior - among those interested.