The foot race to sign Antoine Semenyo is now heating up.
The 25-year-old scored his eighth goal of the season on Saturday, making it 11 goal involvements in the Premier League in just 1,500 minutes this term in the 1-1 draw with Burnley.
Semenyo, if reports are to be believed, is being courted by Manchester City, Manchester United and Premier League champions Liverpool.
Spurs tried and failed to land him during the summer transfer window while Arsenal have long-standing interest in the versatile attacker. Chelsea will likely be keeping an eye on the situation too.
After all, the Blues love to bolster their attacking ranks.
The forward penned a new contract at Vitality Stadium in early July and this deal includes a specific release clause. He can be signed for £65million in January and the fee drops to around the £50million figure in the summer.
However, to be signed during the winter window, a deal has to be struck in the first fortnight.
It’s a time sensitive transfer and this makes the scramble even more fascinating.
There’s a demand for the Bournemouth No24. Manchester City, looking to reclaim the Premier League title, want to add to their attacking ranks despite bringing Rayan Cherki to the club in the summer.
You can’t help but feel a wing pairing of Semenyo and Jeremy Doku would do some damage in the English top-flight, especially with Erling Haaland spearheading the attack.
Manchester United believe a top four finish is on the cards and want to boost Ruben Amorim’s options. Semenyo would likely be deployed as a wing-back at Old Trafford and this is perhaps why, according to a report in the Guardian, the one-time Bristol City winger favours a move to Liverpool right now.
Why Anfield? Well, there’s a clear need for him and, more importantly, there’s a clear role for him.
Liverpool looked light in attack even after spending close to £300million on Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike in the summer.
Both Ekitike and Wirtz can play on the left side but Arne Slot reportedly sold the German maestro on the idea of being the main man for the Reds, dictating play from the middle of the pitch, while Ekitike has been the team’s best centre-forward this term with Isak in and out of the team as a result of injuries and lack of fitness.
With the No9 out for a couple of months now with a suspected broken leg, Ektike isn’t going to be deployed on the left any time soon.
Rio Ngumoha is highly rated within the club but his opportunities in the first-team remain scarce, with Slot reluctant to trust him on the left. Federico Chiesa is still around but is viewed by the Dutch tactician as nothing more than a sub.
It means Cody Gakpo is and has been the only real viable option on the left for the Reds. And prior to his stint on the sidelines recently, Mohamed Salah was the only option for Liverpool on the right.
It was then a flip of a coin to decide who would lead the line out of Isak and Ekitke. That was it. That was all the Reds had in attack heading into the new campaign. Four genuine options for three roles.
With Gakpo injured and Salah away at AFCON, the holes in this attack have been brought firmly into focus. Liverpool are in dire need of a true versatile forward who can help ease the workload on the attackers.
Semenyo could easily be a starting left-sided attacker for the Premier League champions right now. He could be a starting right-sided attacker for Slot’s side too. His traits mean he could even do a job as part of a two-man attack.
The eight-goal winger is a plug-and-play signing. He’s the player you bring in to have an immediate impact on this team. While £65million might seem like an overpay for a 25-year-old who has never scored 15 goals in a single Premier League campaign, it appears to be the going rate right now.
And there’s always a slight interest added to January fees.
The fact is, Semenyo has 19 goals and eight assists since the start of last season. He’s posted these numbers while playing numerous positions and different roles for a Bournemouth team expected to struggle after the sales of key players.
He’s running a little hot this term, with eight goals from an expected goals (xG) total of 5.36 but he does have a post-shot expected goals total of 6.9. He’s adding value to his efforts with his shot placement, and this is why he’s continued to be amongst the goals.
He’s a chance-getter and a goal threat. What makes him particularly interesting is he’s scaled down his output while maintaining his production. He’s not reliant on volume to be a threat and it means, if he joins a better attacking team, he might be able to scale output which then, in theory, spikes production.
In the right team, he’s primed to explode. In the right environment, he could flourish into one of the biggest threats in the Premier League.
A move to Anfield presents him with the opportunity. A move to Liverpool gives him a platform to scale his game to new heights. The Reds need him and he needs a team like Liverpool to fulfil his potential.
Careers are all about moments and making the most of opportunities. Isak’s injury might be a sliding doors moment for Semenyo.
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