Antoine Semenyo is set to leave Bournemouth in January and has reportedly set his sights on signing for Manchester City. But the winger faces an immediate blow at the Etihad Stadium as the No. 24 shirt he wears for the Cherries isn’t available.
Semenyo has starred at the Vitality Stadium since joining Bournemouth from Bristol City at the start of 2023 and has bagged 30 goals and 13 assists in 106 appearances for the Dorset club. He has a £65million release clause in his Cherries contract that can be triggered next month, with the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea said to be pursuing his signature. But the 25-year-old is set to snub those clubs in favour of a move to City.
Semenyo has exclusively worn the No. 24 shirt since arriving at Bournemouth and has produced some of the best performances of his career in that jersey.
He hasn’t switched to a new number in recent years, despite becoming Bournemouth’s star player, which suggests he is pretty fond of the shirt.
But the No. 24 jersey won’t be available if he moves to City as Josko Gvardiol took it on when he joined the Citizens from RB Leipzig two-and-a-half years ago.
Semenyo would therefore have to select a different number if he does decide to pen a deal with the eight-time Premier League champions.
And he could opt for the No. 42 shirt, a number he wore at Bristol City and also selected during loan spells with Newport and Sunderland. Another option would be the No. 12 shirt, which is also available.
Bournemouth have endured a downturn in fortunes over the last couple of months after picking up just four points in their last eight Premier League matches.
That run, which has seen them lose to Manchester City, Aston Villa, Sunderland and Everton has seen them drop from second to 15th in the table.
The south coast side will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Brentford. And ahead of the clash, Cherries boss Andoni Iraola addressed Semenyo’s future as he explained: “I understand that there is a lot of noise around Antoine.
“There are situations that we cannot control but, right now, Antoine is our player and he’s going to continue playing for us.
“If you ask me, I don’t want to lose him, definitely don’t want to lose him. But like we always say, every time the market opens, you never know what’s going to happen.”