Liverpool are considering a January transfer for Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo as the pressure increases on out-of-form Mohamed Salah.
Semenyo has started the Premier League season in superb form, scoring six in eight games after committing to Andoni Iraola’s Cherries in the close season despite interest from Tottenham and Manchester United.
But high-flying Bournemouth know they face a battle to keep hold of Semenyo in the long-term and The i Paper understands that Liverpool have joined the crop of clubs interested in the right-sided forward.
The Reds’ interest in the 25-year-old is long-term but with Salah struggling to make an impact so far this season – and due to depart later in the year for the Africa Cup of Nations – they are considering whether to push the button on a move for the Ghana winger in January to increase competition in that position.
Semenyo will not be departing for Afcon after Ghana failed to qualify for the tournament in Morocco. Salah signed a two-year deal in April after a season of speculation about his future but only has two Premier League goals in the opening nine games of the season.
Liverpool spent nearly £450m in the summer on a refresh of their forward line but are still in the market for long-term successors to Salah and centre-back Virgil van Dijk.
And they have still have headroom to spend again under the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability regulations (PSR) after offsetting their record spending spree by selling the likes of Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz in the close season.
Semenyo’s release clause tempts Liverpool
Semenyo came close to leaving Bournemouth in the summer but offers from Manchester United and Tottenham were below the Cherries’ valuation – with the club then using those lowball offers to persuade the winger that his future was best served by signing a new deal on fresh terms.
But it is understood that as part of those negotiations a release clause was included in the new contract, which does open up the possibility of an exit. It’s not clear at this stage what the terms of the clause are but it could be that the Reds try to exploit it by making a January move.
Liverpool, of course, signed Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth in the summer and have a link to the club through sporting director Richard Hughes, who held a similar position on the South Coast until March 2024.
There was speculation during the most recent international break that Semenyo may be among the next crop of Premier League players to transfer for £100m but the clause is understood to be lower than that. In the summer Bournemouth’s asking price was around the £75m mark.
Bournemouth are understandably keen to keep the noise about Semenyo’s future down to a minimum but a willingness to trade has kept the dressing room happy and enabled the club to sign some of the best prospects in Europe to push them on.
Asked directly about the existence of a release clause on Friday, Iraola said: “I don’t know anything about the contracts of the players. I don’t know how much they earn and don’t know want to know either.
“The most important thing for me is that he continues playing well. If he does there will be more noise but it’s something we take if he’s playing well. My concern is to keep him in the spot where he’s playing well.”
Tottenham and Manchester United – as well as a crop of overseas clubs – are understood to retain an interest in Semenyo but, crucially, Bournemouth are desperate to keep hold of him until at least the end of the season.
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