Target: Antoine Semenyo
Chelsea Football Newsletter
Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo is currently one of the most desired players in the Premier League and with the January transfer window opening in just over a week, a lot of clubs are interested in his signature.
The Ghanaian star has scored eight goals and registered three assists in 16 league games and it seems unlikely that the Cherries will be able to hold onto him for much longer.
Semenyo has a release clause of £65 million, which is an initial £60m plus £5m in add-ons, and it expires on January 10, 2026 in order to protect Bournemouth and not leave them scrambling to find a last-minute replacement for their star player.
According to Sky Sports, should Semenyo stay at Bournemouth until the end of the season, his release clause drops in the summer.
Standard Sport understands Chelsea have already made contact for the 25-year-old, and Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool are all also interested.
Cherries manager Andoni Iraola has spoken of his desire to keep his best player, saying: "I don't want to lose him, definitely I don't want to lose him."
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Since the start of last season Semenyo has scored 19 Premier League goals for Bournemouth and it would be a difficult task for the club to replace his goals.
They are currently 15th in the league and not doing as well as they did last campaign when they finished ninth, and this would be a huge blow for Iraola.
It is, however, out of Iraola’s control, which he is also aware of: "At the end of situations, myself as a coach, I don't control, I'm not in the negotiations when the players negotiate with the club and they find agreements.
"When you sign a contract, both parties are happy when you sign the contract. But me as a coach, I can only tell you I hope we don't lose him, because it's very, very important for us. But I don't know, I cannot control what's going to happen."
Semenyo will play for Bournemouth for the next few weeks at least as he is not at the Africa Cup of Nations with Ghana after they failed to qualify for the competition.
Iraola's side have a very tough fixture run over Christmas with Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham as three of their next four opponents and the Spaniard will be hoping Semenyo can shut out the noise and perform at his best during that period.