Antoine Semenyo is attracting interest from Man City and Liverpoolplaceholder image
Antoine Semenyo is attracting interest from Man City and Liverpool | Getty Images
Bristol City could be in line for a huge transfer windfall in January
Former Bristol City fan favourite Antoine Semenyo is rapidly becoming one of the most coveted young footballers in English football.
The 25-year-old is in the form of his life for Bournemouth - he’s registered six goals and three assists from 11 league matches this term, making him the second most productive player in the Premier League in terms of goal contributions behind the imperious Erling Haaland.
Semenyo found the net twice against Liverpool on matchday one and has since gone on to score against Brighton, Leeds United and twice again against Fulham.
His pace and trickery is allowing him to tear defenders apart and he’s currently a key component in a Bournemouth side that are flying high in the top half of the table despite a series of high profile departures over the summer.
Bournemouth are bracing themselves for interest from Semenyo and are expected to have to face offers from the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, according to Sky Sports.
Antoine Semenyo is one of Bristol City’s great success stories
Antoine Semenyo is currently one of the most in-demand footballers in the Premier League, but his journey to the top hasn’t always been easy. The Ghanaian international had unsuccessful trials at Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Millwall and Crystal Palace as a youngster, leaving him without a club at the age of 15.
He initially decided to give up on becoming a professional footballer but was reportedly persuaded to keep pursuing a career in the sport by former Leeds United boss David Hockaday.
Bristol City signed him two years later on a free transfer, in what has since proved to be a masterstroke signing. His journey into first team football took time, with mixed results in loans at Bath City, Newport County and Sunderland.
He’d had a taste of first team football before that but it was the campaign of 2020/21 where he started to become a regular with 50 appearances.
Overall, Semenyo made 125 appearances for the Robins, scoring 21 and assisting as many before making the move to Bournemouth in the Premier League.
The Cherries paid £10m to sign Semenyo in what proved a real coup. However, what remains interesting from a Bristol City perspective is that the club still hold a 20% sell-on clause, according to Football League World.
Antoine Semenyo’s next move could give Bristol City huge promotion boost
Antoine Semenyo is expected to be the subject of great transfer interest and speculation throughout January. Bournemouth won’t want to sell as they have aspirations of making Europe, but have proven in the past that they won’t stand in the way of a player’s wishes if they feel they’ve been given a fair amount.
This was the case with Milos Kerkez, Illia Zabarnyi, Dango Ouattara, Dean Huijsen, Dominic Solanke and going further back Aaron Ramsdale, Nathan Ake and Callum Wilson.
A report by TeamTalk has revealed that Liverpool are considering submitting a bid of £70m to secure Semenyo’s services, which if accepted would mean the Robins would receive a £14m windfall - potentially allowing Gerhard Struber a transformative boost in the winter window.
This, of course, could even end up being higher should a bidding war take place between the likes of City and Tottenham.
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