Antoine Semenyo is leaning towards Manchester City when the January transfer window opens towards the end of next week, according to a new report.
City are among several leading Premier League clubs interested in the Bournemouth winger, who has scored eight times and assisted three others in 16 league appearances so far this season.
Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea have also been tracking Semenyo in recent weeks thanks to a breakout 18 months since the start of 2024–25. Tottenham Hotspur are a fifth suitor but were already reported to have been told no by the player.
Semenyo has a £65 million ($87.7 million) release clause in the Bournemouth contract he signed as recently as July, effectively paving the way for him to leave the south coast club, who are at least protected from losing him for anything but a fixed premium transfer fee.
It makes the Ghana international an attractive proposition for the January market, luring in Manchester United because of the rare opportunity to sign a Premier League-proven forward without paying anywhere close to nine figures for the privilege. Chelsea are looking to boost their goal output, while Liverpool have to find a way to replace Mohamed Salah in the long-term, regardless of whether his short-term future gets ironed out.
The Athletic writes that Semenyo has a “preference”, and it’s Manchester City. There is no formal agreement at this stage, but the reason given is the player’s desire to win trophies.
A supporting report in that respect from BBC Sport has also explained that each of the clubs reaching out to Semenyo’s representatives are prepared to offer similar salaries. Bearing that financial equilibrium in mind, his decision will then come down to the most attractive sporting project.
Manchester United, it seems, will not waste any time chasing players not “eager to join”—Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo were conversely both very keen on Old Trafford during the summer. Chelsea, it has also now been revealed, have already pulled out since launching an initial enquiry.
Man City’s Overreliance on Erling Haaland Driving Semenyo Pursuit
Manchester City are the Premier League’s top scoring team so far this season, netting 41 times in their opening 17 games. But Erling Haaland’s 19 goals accounts for an alarming 46% of that output, highlighting a dangerous overreliance on a single player, something Pep Guardiola has conceded.
Phil Foden has seven Premier League goals to his name, while midfielder Tijjani Reijnders is the only other City player to have found the net more than twice in the league.
Where the strengths of wide players like Rayan Cherki and Jérémy Doku lie in creativity and assists—the pair have 10 between them in the league, Semenyo is more of a goalscoring winger.
Omar Marmoush, signed last January for £59 million, hasn’t started a Premier League game since recovering from a brief injury absence in September that just ran into October. He hasn’t scored in the league at all so far this season, nor has Savinho or Oscar Bobb.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Antoine Semenyo’s Transfer ‘Preference’ Revealed As Race Accelerates.