Manchester clubs contact Bournemouth over Semenyo as race for winger heats up

According to Fabrizio Romano, both Manchester United and Manchester City have contacted Bournemouth over the last few days with the intention of understanding the situation of Antoine Semenyo in relation to the January transfer window. Also, Tottenham Hotspur are pushing hard to sign the winger, while Liverpool appear to have gathered all the necessary information and are currently assessing their options.

City boss Pep Guardiola is said to be keen on adding another high-quality attacking option for the second half of the season, aiming to push Premier League leaders Arsenal as hard as possible in the title race. As for United, their move for Semenyo currently depends on their financial options – they already spent heavily in the summer, signing the likes of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko. Bournemouth’s price for Semenyo remains unchanged – £65million, as set in the release clause in his contract.

Romano describes Tottenham’s interest as genuine, but it will depend on the player himself; it remains to be seen if Semenyo wants to join a team whose chances of qualifying for the Champions League next season don’t look too good at this point.

And as for Liverpool, there are two factors of significance. The first is the uncertainty around Mohamed Salah, and the other is their order of priorities when it comes to strengthening the squad.

It will likely come down to what Semenyo himself decides to do.

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The 25-year-old Ghana international has scored seven goals and produced three assists in 15 Premier League matches this term, and his quality has become obvious. If he intends to settle at a top club for what will surely be the prime period in his career, this is the moment when he must choose wisely.

With that in mind, there doesn’t seem to be much sense for him to go to Spurs, with all due respect to them and manager Thomas Frank. The future of the former Brentford boss himself is far from certain, though reports suggest he still has the trust of the club hierarchy for the time being. Even if things go well for his team, it will be a long time before they’re considered as serious contenders at the top-end of the table.

United appear to be one step ahead of Spurs on the road towards the top. There are similarities – the Red Devils will also need time to make further progress towards the old paths of glory, but the position of manager Ruben Amorim appears to have stabilized after some good performances in recent weeks. The team is slowly being built according to the designs of the Portuguese coach, and in-demand players will have good reasons for wanting to be a part of the project at Old Trafford.

At City, Semenyo would be another name in a well-stocked attacking department, competing for the biggest trophies straight away, but also for a place in the team that’s currently firing on all cylinders, scoring 18 goals in the last six matches across all competitions. Guardiola already has Jeremy Doku, Phil Foden, Savinho and Oscar Bobb as options on the attacking  flanks, with Omar Marmoush also capable of playing wide. The Bournemouth man will surely want to ponder the question of playing time when considering the Etihad as a potential destination.

It’s a bit different at Liverpool. The Merseysiders are still a top team, there’s no doubt about that, but they’ve gone through a heavy crisis this season that has left them sitting in seventh place at the moment, having lost six of the 16 league matches so far. They are still considered among the favourites to qualify for the Champions League next term, but it feels safe to say that the title race has gone beyond their reach.

There would also be a question mark over a place in the starting lineup for Semenyo under Arne Slot, but far less so than at City. Even if Salah stays put, the Egyptian will turn 34 this year and there is logic in wanting to be eased into the role of his long-term replacement. The only question there, is whether Semenyo will back himself to handle the pressure which comes with filling the shoes of a man who has broken so many records and brought so much success to the six-time European champions after decades of disappointment.

In the end, it’s likely to go down to the wire between Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool, and as Romano says, it will all depend on what the player wants to do at this stage of his career. The only way Spurs would come into the equation would be if, for reasons hard to fathom at this point, all three of these clubs fail to get the transfer over the line, and Semenyo himself decides he wants to leave Bournemouth in the middle of the season no matter what.

But even the possibility of Semenyo staying at the Vitality in January wouldn’t be too bad for the prospective suitors. They would surely come back for him in the summer, when his release clause is expected to be reduced further.