Man City do hold a “genuine interest” in Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo but any formal offer is “more likely” to happen at the end of the season, according to reports.
The Ghanaian international has a release clause that can be triggered during the first two weeks of the January transfer window.
However, The I Paper claim the Cityzens would prefer to wait until the summer to sign Semenyo when his release clause would have dropped.
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The 25-year-old will cost £65m in January, but the price will go down to a fee closer to £50m when the campaign is over.
Liverpool are favourites to sign the winger
Due to City’s hesistancy about making a bid in January, it is now believed that the current Premier League champions are leading the race to buy Semenyo.
Of course, the Reds have their own issues. They are still struggling to integrate their summer signings, while the future of head coach Arne Slot is uncertain following a disastrous run of results that has seen his side lose 9 of their last 12 games in all competitions.
What is Semenyo’s stance?
The I Paper report that the Ghanaian is more than happy to stay at Bournemouth if no team makes an approach in the New Year. He did sign a new contract in the summer when Manchester United and Tottenham were circling.
However, the inclusion of the release clause does suggest Semenyo was hedging his bets, and it is thought that if City or Liverpool do make a concerted effort to buy him, he would be very open to a transfer.
It now depends on which teams are willing to stump up the cash, and from the sound of things, Pep Guardiola’s team are not prepared to make the first move.
Read more about the Man City First Team Squad for 2025/26 here