Liverpool believe 'extraordinary' and 'unbelievable' player wants to join Man City next monthplaceholder image
Liverpool believe 'extraordinary' and 'unbelievable' player wants to join Man City next month | Getty Images
Several Premier League sides are interested in Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo next month
Liverpool reportedly believe that January transfer target Antoine Semenyo ‘would prefer to join Man City next month’ with several Premier League sides chasing the Bournemouth star ahead of the window opening next week.
City and Liverpool are just two sides who have been heavily linked with the winger, who has a £65m release clause in his contract at the Vitality Stadium. That clause is only active for the first 10 days of the January window, so any move is likely to happen swiftly.
Football Insider report that there is a belief at Liverpool that Semenyo prefers a move to City. Arsenal are said to still be in the race while Manchester United and Tottenham have both been linked ahead of January.
Pep Guardiola has already moved to praise Semenyo publicly, as he spoke in glowing terms about the player before City’s 3-1 win over Bournemouth in early November.
"He's an extraordinary, extraordinary, extraordinary player," the Spaniard insisted.
"His energy, his confidence, his movement - unbelievable. He doesn't stop running, he attacks space so well, and when he has the ball, you feel something will happen.
"He's improving every game. Players like him make this league special - always hungry, always brave."
The arrival of Semenyo at City would probably see Savinho leave Manchester. The player was linked with Tottenham back in the summer but Guardiola was not keen on the player’s exit.
However, a player like Semenyo would want game-time after scoring nine goals and providing three assists in his 17 Premier League appearances so far this season.
The speculation around the forward’s future has been somewhat of a distraction for the Cherries, with Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola recently addressing Semeyo’s future. He said last week: “Antoine Semenyo right now is with us. He has trained today with us, very well.
“I understand that there is a lot of noise around Antoine. But my concern is that it doesn’t affect him, his performances and we are seeing that it is not affecting his performances.
“He is very committed to the team and I hope we can keep him there. 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.”
Only Brentford’s Igor Thiago and Erling Haaland have scored more goals than Semenyo in the Premier League this season. His arrival could hand City a huge boost in their pursuit of the Premier League title.
They remain two points behind Arsenal after Rayan Cherki’s 83rd-minute winner in Saturday’s victory over Nottingham Forest. Up next for City is a tricky test away at Sunderland on Thursday before hosting Chelsea next Sunday.
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