Antoine Semenyo on his long wait for Sunderland move and why he's already loving it on Wearside

The 20-year-old is enjoying his first week on Wearside as he bids to push his way into contention for a place in the starting XI.

The forward had been Phil Parkinson’s top attacking target for the January window, confirming even before the month began that he was keen to bring in a talented player who he said would bring the ‘pace and power’ that the team needed.

Bristol City’s failure to land Arsenal youngster Eddie Nketiah delayed the move but Semenyo was finally able to make the short-term switch on deadline day.

He came off the bench in the second half of the 2-0 defeat to Portsmouth, and while they were challenging circumstances for a forward to make his debut in, his first taste of action has left him hungry to make an impact.

“I always thought that I was coming here but there was a slight delay, which was frustrating,” Semenyo told safc.com.

“I spoke to Bailey Wright, he gave me a little insight into how it is here.

“He just said that it was fantastic and that I would really enjoy it.

“It all came good in the end.

“It's fantastic [to be here],” he added.

“I'm loving it here already.

“Obviously I played a bit on Saturday, the fans were crazy and even though the result was poor, it was fantastic and I'm buzzing.

“As a young player you just want to be play, so when you’re not it’s frustrating and when you get a chance like I have here, you just want to take it.”

Semenyo has quickly taken Marc McNulty’s slot in the matchday squad, and says he will be comfortable operating in any fo the forward positions in Parkinson’s preferred 3-4-3.

“I can play anywhere in the front three,” he said.

“Either off the left or right or as the nine.

“I just want to provide goals and assists, helping the team get up into the play-offs and potentially automatic promotion.

“It's a fantastic team that deserves to be in the Championship, so that’s the goal.”