Man City lead race to sign Bournemouth’s Semenyo

Antoine Semenyo is set to make a final decision on his future with Manchester City in advanced talks over a January move for the Bournemouth forward.

According to reports, City have made positive progress in recent days and now believe they are well-placed to sign the 25-year-old.

Sources with knowledge of the situation say four other Premier League clubs also made enquiries, to varying degrees, about Semenyo, who has a £65m release clause.

Those clubs are understood to be Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea.

United’s interest cooled because they expect Semenyo to join Pep Guardiola’s side, while Chelsea opted not to pursue a deal.

Liverpool have also checked on the conditions of a deal and it remains to be seen if they accelerate their initial interest in light of Alexander Isak’s broken leg.

Tottenham are believed to be outsiders for the signature of the Ghana international, who joined the Cherries in 2023 from Bristol City.

Semenyo’s release clause is only active for the first 10 days of January – and was necessary to keep him at Bournemouth when he agreed a new contract in July.

The price, though, will drop slightly in the summer window.

Bournemouth accept they are vulnerable to losing their key player and willing to negotiate with any club prepared to allow him to stay with them until the end of the season.

From a financial perspective interested clubs are all willing to pay a very similar remuneration package to Semenyo, whose final decision will be made with an emphasis on his personal sporting ambitions.

He turns 26 on 7 January and there is a recognition he is entering the prime of his career.

“I know there is lots of noise around him,” said Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola. “[It is] not my concern, my concern is it doesn’t affect his performances. It is not doing, he is very committed to the team and I hope we can keep him here.

“[A] situation we cannot control, but Antoine right now is our player, going to continue playing for us. If you ask me, I don’t want to lose him, definitely don’t. But every time the market opens, you never know what is going to happen.”

With that in mind, it is understood Semenyo will prioritise a club he believes can provide him with what he views as the most suitable project to compete for major trophies on a long-term basis.

The location and impact on his family will also be a contributing factor to his decision and it is understood he does not want the saga to become a long drawn-out process.