Bournemouth striker Antoine Semenyo has set his sights on a move to Manchester United during the winter transfer window, according to the journalist David Ornstein.
The Ghanaian star has had a brilliant season for the Cherries, scoring eight goals and providing three assists in 16 Premier League games so far. He could face a bigger challenge away from Bournemouth in January Ornstein provided a new update during a conversation with NBC Sports.
The renowned journalist said that Man United are emerging as one of the ‘leading contenders’ to sign Semenyo alongside Manchester City. He added that Liverpool and Arsenal are not eligible, while the 25-year-old does not want to join Tottenham Hotspur despite the club offering a significant salary.
He said: “The names emerging as the leading contenders at the moment are Manchester City and Manchester United – in no particular order. Liverpool would have had great admiration for him. They haven’t evolved to the same extent so far, but let’s see if anything changes around Isak’s injury situation.”
“Tottenham were keen and I think they were prepared to pay a significant salary to Semenyo, but he is politely concentrating on other options, especially City or United. Arsenal might have looked at the situation, but more towards the summer, and I don’t think he is prepared to wait until then.”
Immediate impact
United strengthened their forward ranks last summer with Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko. Mbeumo has been a big hit with seven goals, while Cunha has started to find his feet in recent games. The Brazil international has scored in back-to-back games for the Mancunian giants. Sesko is still adapting to the league, but he has the potential to become an elite striker.
Alongside Mbeumo and Cunha, Mason Mount has impressed in attacking midfield under manager Ruben Amorim, but the Portuguese may want more quality and competition at the back end of the season. Semenyo has the ability to play on either wing, and he could be deployed by Amorim as a wide attacking midfielder when he joins from the Cherries next month.
Semenyo. praised as ‘world class‘ by Justin Kluivert, has dazzled with his attacking contributions, but he has also been solid with his defensive involvement. He won 6 matches and almost 2 tackles per game with 5 recoveries. He has the attributes to suit Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system, and it remains to be seen whether United will look to get his money back. £65 million release clause, which will be active during the first 10 days of January.
The former Bristol City player is a proven Premier League star, having excelled at Bournemouth over the past 18 months. He would take literally no time to make an impact and could boost United’s prospects of securing Champions League football next season.
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