Manchester City have emerged as the frontrunners to sign Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo after Chelsea pulled out of the race. The 25-year-old Ghanaian has a £65m release clause in his contract, comprising a £60m fixed fee plus £5m in add-ons, which becomes active for the first two weeks of January. No agreement has been reached yet, but it is understood that Semenyo prefers a move to City.
Chelsea explored the terms of a deal on Tuesday and made inquiries about Semenyo's wage demands, only to withdraw their interest shortly afterwards. The London club decided they are content with their current attacking options, leaving the field clear for rivals to negotiate with the player.
Liverpool and Manchester United have also been pushing for Semenyo. Liverpool have tracked him for some time and could look to reinforce their attack following Alexander Isak's broken leg, while United have held a long-standing interest and have already made an attempt to sign him. However, rival clubs believe Semenyo will join Pep Guardiola's side, boosting City's title chances. The winger has already turned down interest from Tottenham.
Semenyo, who has scored eight goals and provided three assists in the Premier League this season, joined Bournemouth from Bristol City two years ago and has developed into one of England's most impressive attacking players. Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola hopes to keep him for the remainder of the campaign, but the club have demonstrated a willingness to sell their key assets.
"I understand that there is a lot of noise around Antoine," said Iraola. "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. He has had moments where he hasn't scored and has still been very valuable for us. At the end, we demand not only the numbers, but he gives us a lot of things. It's no secret he is a massive player for us."
