"Eddie Howe has rued the rule change which means £62.5 million ($84m) Manchester City signing Antoine Semenyo can line up against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup semifinal. The 26-year-old Ghana international, who joined City from Bournemouth last week, is available to face the Magpies in Tuesday night's first leg at St James' Park despite having already played as a substitute in the Cherries' 2-0 second round defeat by Brentford in August. Semenyo, who scored on his debut in Saturday's 10-1 FA Cup demolition of Exeter, is able to do so under the newly-introduced EFL rule 6.4, which allows a player to represent up to two clubs in the competition in a season. Asked for his opinion of the change, Magpies head coach Howe said with a wry smile: "Yeah, it was nice to find out that rule had changed after finding out they'd signed him.""
""I have to say that's one rule change I probably wouldn't be supportive of at this current moment. But Antoine's had an incredible season. I'm a big admirer of his and he scored on his debut, so fair play to him. I think Man City have signed a very, very good player.""
"Whatever side Guardiola fields on Tyneside, Howe knows the challenge of retaining the trophy Newcastle won last season against Liverpool to end their 70-year wait for domestic silverware is as stern as it could be. However, he insists he cannot allow himself to feel inferior as he goes up against the Spaniard and his star-studded squad. Guardiola's glittering managerial career began at Barcelona and continued at Bayern Munich before his arrival at the Etihad Stadium, while Howe, who will be without full-back Tino Livramento as he undergoes a scan on his damaged hamstring, cut his teeth in League Two with Bournemouth, eventually leading the club to the Premier League as he learned his trade the hard way."
EFL rule 6.4 now allows a player to represent up to two clubs in the Carabao Cup during a single season. Antoine Semenyo, who moved from Bournemouth to Manchester City last week for £62.5 million, is eligible to face Newcastle despite having been a substitute for Bournemouth earlier in the competition. Semenyo scored on his City debut in a 10-1 FA Cup win over Exeter. Newcastle manager Eddie Howe expressed frustration at the rule change but praised Semenyo's form and acknowledged Manchester City's recruitment. Howe anticipates a stern challenge from Guardiola's star-studded squad while managing squad injury concerns.
Read at ESPN.com
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