Premier League champions Liverpool spent a staggering £446.5m during the 2025 summer transfer window, and they could turn to the market once again to address their lacklustre title defence.
A growing number of reports suggest that Arne Slot's side are keen on signing Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo to bolster a frontline that has already seen more than £200m of investment this year.
However, it would be fair to say that the new arrivals have not gelled as quickly as the Merseysiders had hoped, something that is borne out in the fact that the Reds currently sit eighth in the top flight.
Here, Sports Mole takes a look at what Semenyo could bring to Liverpool, using Cody Gakpo and former Anfield favourite Luis Diaz for comparison.
Liverpool spent £446.5m but still need to replace Luis Diaz
Liverpool's Luis Diaz celebrates scoring on April 27, 2025
After sealing the Premier League title at the first time of asking, Slot was rewarded with a transfer window for the ages that saw the club break the British transfer record twice to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for £116m, and Alexander Isak from Newcastle United for £125m.
That being said, the 22-year-old Germany star has shown glimpses of his talent, but he has not yet made himself the fulcrum of the Reds' midfield as many had expected.
Meanwhile, Isak's transfer was the saga of the summer yet he has been hampered by injury issues, though fellow new-arrival Hugo Ekitike has started strongly on Merseyside.
Going in the opposite direction were striker Darwin Nunez - who left for Al-Hilal - and left-winger Diaz, whose £65.5m sale was seen as good value, even if some may question the decision in hindsight considering that he has been a major hit at Bayern Munich so far.
Liverpool also lost versatile forward Diogo Jota in tragic circumstances, and the effects of his absence have been discussed by many in the squad.
The headline figure reads that the Reds spent swathes of cash on talented attackers, but it is often overlooked that they signed two new forwards while losing three, leaving them down one player up top.
More specifically, Slot's side brought in two strikers but failed to adequately replace Diaz, and even though the Colombian's output in terms of direct goal contributions did not set him apart from his peers, his tenacity and dribbling have been sorely missed in 2025-26.
Cody Gakpo, Florian Wirtz: Liverpool's current options at left-wing
Liverpool's Cody Gakpo celebrates scoring on August 4, 2025
With Diaz out of the picture, Liverpool have opted to make Gakpo their number one left winger this season, leading to mixed results.
The Netherlands forward has drawn criticism from fans, pundits and even his own manager for his decision making in the final third, and while the entire XI can seem disjointed at times, Gakpo's inability to form a link with Milos Kerkez has severely hampered the entire left flank.
In an attempt to combat this, Slot has reverted to veteran Andrew Robertson in place of the 22-year-old Hungarian at left-back, while also trialling Wirtz on the left, a role that he played at Leverkusen and continues to shine in on international duty.
However, both Gakpo and Wirtz lack the pace, ball carrying and defensive intensity that Diaz offered, something that could drive Liverpool to the transfer market for solutions.
What could reported transfer target Antoine Semenyo bring to Arne Slot's Liverpool?
Antoine Semenyo of Bournemouth on the attack on September 21, 2025
Under the guidance of Andoni Iraola, Semenyo has flourished into one of the Premier League's standout forwards in terms of both goal involvements and general play.
The 25-year-old has scored six times in the top flight this season, while also providing three assists for his teammates across 990 minutes - a rate of one direct contribution every 110 minutes so far.
Extrapolating those numbers across the remainder of the campaign, Semenyo could end up with a tally of 20 goals and 10 assists, an incredible season by any measure.
For comparison, Diaz enjoyed his most productive season with Liverpool last term, netting 13 times and setting up his teammates on five occasions in the league at a rate of one contribution every 134 minutes.
As for Gakpo, he is yet to go beyond the 10-goal mark in the Premier League, and his offering of 10 strikes and four assists averaged out at one involvement every 138 minutes in 2024-25.
Additionally, the Reds have struggled to progress the ball this season after losing both Trent Alexander-Arnold - their most progressive passer - and Diaz, a strong progressive dribbler.
So far this term, Semenyo has played almost 26% more progressive passes than Gakpo, and if he keeps his levels up over the rest of the campaign, then he will surpass Diaz's progressive passing distance from last year.
David Lynch YouTube image
One other important aspect to the Bournemouth man's game is his defensive work, something that he outclasses Gakpo in, as highlighted by the fact that he has put in twice as many tackles as the Dutchman while maintaining a near-14% higher success rate (55.6% vs. 41.7%).
Liverpool have been lacking impetus when defending from the front for the most part this term, though if they are to continue pressing high as they did during their 2-0 triumph over Aston Villa and 1-0 victory against Real Madrid earlier this month - the Reds' best performances in 2025-26 - then Semenyo could be a major asset.
In any case, with a supposed release clause of £65m inclusive of add-ons in January, it is difficult to see sporting director Richard Hughes turning down the chance to bring in one of the Premier League's most effective attackers on a cut-price deal.
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