Antoine Semenyo transfer latest as two clubs make move amid $87M Liverpool links

Antoine Semenyo has been mentioned as a possible Liverpool transfer target, but as January nears, two other clubs are shaping up to target the Bournemouth superstar

Liverpool-linked Antoine Semenyo is being courted by other transfer suitors(Image: PETER POWELL / AFP via Getty Images)

It has been surprising to see Antoine Semenyo linked with a transfer to Liverpool this season.

When the Reds parted with more than $300 million on three attackers this summer, none older than 25 at the time, it felt as though the front line might have been reshaped for years to come.

However, a closer look at the profiles of those trio goes a long way to explaining why Semenyo might be on the radar. Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike are effectively competing for one role through the middle, and it seems Florian Wirtz has primarily been signed to play in his favored position at the tip of midfield.

You could legitimately question whether that was necessarily the right spread of profiles for Liverpool to target. But the upshot is that Arne Slot is still in need of new wingers in the not-too-distant future.

There has been much frustration this season at the apparent insistence on playing Cody Gakpo. But since the departure of Luis Diaz, Slot has no other natural senior options.

Rio Ngumoha could (and should) have been handed more chances. But even the youngster's staunchest supporters would accept that it is a risk to put the entire future of the left flank on his shoulders at the age of just 17.

On the other side of the pitch, Slot's refusal to play Federico Chiesa has been even more mystifying. But with the Italian clearly not enjoying the manager's faith, that only really leaves a 33-year-old Mohamed Salah, who will be in need of a successor soon, regardless of his current struggles for form.

This, in theory, is where Semenyo could enter the picture. Equally comfortable on either wing, he could be the final piece in Slot's 2.0 attack.

Semenyo has impressed on both flanks for Bournemouth(Image: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

However, unsurprisingly, Semenyo's form has attracted the interest of other teams as well. And Bournemouth could be fending off transfer interest as soon as January.

According to Fabrizio Romano, both Manchester United and Manchester City made calls about a possible transfer over the last couple of days. In Man Utd's case, that conversation would have come hot on the heels of a 4-4 draw in which Semenyo found the net.

And while the Manchester duo are the ones said to have made the most recent calls, Romano also claims that Tottenham is "trying to attack the situation." As for Liverpool's interest, the journalist tied it to questions over Salah's future, as well as potential alternative priorities in January.

Bournemouth will not be keen to sell to anybody in the winter transfer window. It has quietly slipped into 13th, with no wins in five, and will be desperate to hang onto its talisman.

The Cherries are never averse to cashing in and rebuilding. But that process is typically reserved for the summer, as we saw just a few months ago when Liverpool moved for Milos Kerkez (Ilya Zabarnyi, Dean Huijsen, and Dango Outtara all left too).

Liverpool has already raided Bournemouth once this season, signing Milos Kerkez in the summer(Image: Michael Steele/Getty Images)

But this time around, Bournemouth's hands may be tied. A release clause of $87 million (£65 million) will be active for the first two weeks of January.

Given this timeline, it's little wonder that clubs are starting to ramp up activity. Semenyo's short-term future will be settled one way or another within the next month or so.

Should Liverpool choose to go up against Man Utd and Man City, then it will hope for an advantage in the form of Richard Hughes. Formerly of Bournemouth, the sporting director knows Semenyo well, having brought him to the Premier League in the first place.

But decision time is almost here. With other clubs already making calls, Liverpool must either commit to the Semenyo race or else look elsewhere.