Liverpool’s move for Antoine Semenyo during the January transfer window is starting to feel like an inevitability.
The Reds are circling Semenyo after seeing him deliver a phenomenal start to the Premier League campaign.
The Ghanaian has a £65m release clause woven into his Bournemouth contract which will become active once the New Year arrives.
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Journalist David Ornstein has confirmed that Liverpool are one of three contenders for Semenyo, with Manchester City and Tottenham also in the running.
Should the 25-year-old arrive at Anfield, it could have a knock-on effect for other members of the Liverpool squad, namely Federico Chiesa who would be moved down another rung in the pecking order.
Chiesa was the subject of an update from transfer expert Fabrizio Romano on Friday, and in delivering the latest on the Italian’s future, Romano appears to have given away a key detail regarding Semenyo.
Antoine Semenyo pictured in action during Bournemouth's Premier League match against Nottingham Forest at Dean Court.
Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
January 20th may be key Antoine Semenyo date
It has already been reported that any team willing to activate Semenyo’s release clause in January must do so in a timely manner in order to give Bournemouth time to source a replacement.
Speaking on his Italian language YouTube channel, Romano may have just let it slip that the clause may be no longer active come January 20th.
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“What I can tell you about Chiesa is that the player continues to demonstrate publicly, as do those close to him, that his will is to stay at Liverpool,” the journalist said. “He wants to play in Liverpool and stay in Liverpool.
“It’s clear that if a month or a month and a half from now – well into January – Chiesa still won’t have found the playing time he’s hoping for, and if Liverpool were to make another signing, a winger like Semenyo who’s a player Liverpool are targeting, in that case we need to be careful about Chiesa.”
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“Anfield was scary. I scored, I did a back-flip at the Kop end. I’m thinking ‘I’ve got them rattled.’ They’re clapping, celebrating, pushing the team on even more. I’m thinking ‘oh my god.’”
Antoine Semenyo on the best stadium he ever played at.
Antoine Semenyo of AFC Bournemouth celebrates scoring during the Premier League match between Leeds United and Bournemouth at Elland Road
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images
“I believe Italian clubs will be able to try again during the January window. The door was closed in the summer, by Chiesa and Liverpool, they wanted to continue together. Today, the door remains closed. But if you ask me what happens on January 20th, based on the circumstances, we should monitor the Chiesa situation in the final days of the window.”
Reading between the lines, Liverpool have until the 20th to get Semenyo through the door. If not, perhaps the release clause will cease to exist for the time being.
Romano provides added detail on Semenyo links
As well as speaking about Chiesa, Romano offered a little more detail on Liverpool’s pursuit of Semenyo on his English language channel on Friday.
The reporter claims that the Reds are looking for additional information on the payment structure of the winger’s release clause.
“My information in this case is that Liverpool are very interested in the situation,” he says.
“They already took some information for the structure of the release clause – £60m plus £5m in add-ons. But Liverpool also wanted to be informed on the structure in terms of payment of the release clause, so Liverpool are attentive.”
Given the Reds are looking at how to structure a potential deal, it does feel almost certain that they will make a run at Semenyo in January. That could be bad news for Chiesa.