Liverpool may be an admirer of Antoine Semenyo, but whether the Reds firm up their interest in the Bournemouth forward next month will reportedly depend on several factors.
The 25-year-old's goal contributions have dried up in recent weeks – he has fired a blank in his last six Premier League appearances – but he remains one of the league's top performers since the start of the season, with six goals and three assists.
Semenyo's early-season form prompted speculation linking him with a number of top clubs, and it emerged last month that there is a release clause in his Bournemouth contract that will be active during the January transfer window.
Semenyo only signed a new deal in July, but in order to convince the player to do that, the Cherries agreed to include a £65 million ($86 million) release clause in the agreement.
Bournemouth hopes to keep hold of Semenyo until the end of the campaign, but may be powerless to do so if a top club comes in and matches that figure.
The clause must be triggered by a specific date in January, in order to give Bournemouth adequate time to source a replacement for the former Bristol City man before the window closes; the clause will also apply during next summer's transfer window, but at that point, the figure will be reduced to a smaller amount.
While Sky Sports recently reported that Liverpool, Manchester City, and Tottenham are all monitoring Semenyo ahead of a possible January swoop for the Ghana international, The Athletic suggests that a winter move is unlikely.
Semenyo celebrates at Anfield in August
Semenyo scored twice at Anfield in August (Image: Getty Images)
Laying out the reasons for Liverpool's reluctance to swoop for Semenyo in January, The Athletic says that one of them is the amount of money spent during the summer transfer window, when Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and Giovanni Leoni all arrived on Merseyside.
The second is that the club is mindful of blocking Rio Ngumoha's pathway to the first team, with the third being that Arne Slot is keen to see how
Jeremie Frimpong performs in a more advanced role once he returns to fitness. Frimpong has barely figured for the Reds since his move from Bayer Leverkusen due to injury issues.
It is added, however, that should a "standout market opportunity" present itself to Liverpool, that could prompt the club to swoop in January.