Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo has his sights on joining Manchester United during the winter transfer window, according to journalist David Ornstein.
The Ghanaian star has had a brilliant campaign with the Cherries and he has scored 8 goals and provided 3 assists from 16 Premier League matches thus far. He could pursue a bigger challenge away from Bournemouth in January, and Ornstein has provided a fresh update while speaking with NBC Sports.
The well-known 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 in the running, while the 25-year-old does not wish to join Tottenham Hotspur despite the club offering a significant salary.
He said: “The names that are emerging as the leading contenders right now are Manchester City and Manchester United – in no particular order. Liverpool are said to have had great admiration for him. They have not moved to the same extent so far, but let’s see if anything changes around the Isak injury situation.
“Tottenham were keen, and I am led to believe they were prepared to pay a significant salary to Semenyo, but he’s politely focusing on other options, mainly City or United. Arsenal might have looked at the situation, but more towards the summer, and I don’t think he is willing to wait until that point.”
Instant impact
United bolstered their forward ranks with Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko last summer. Mbeumo has been a huge hit with 7 goals, while Cunha has started to find his feet in recent games. The Brazil international has scored in back-to-back matches for the Mancunian giants. Sesko is still adapting to the league, but he has the potential to become an elite striker.
On top of Mbeumo and Cunha, Mason Mount has impressed in the attacking midfield department under manager Ruben Amorim, but the Portuguese may want more quality and competition during the back end of the campaign. Semenyo has the ability to play on either wing, and he could be used as a wide attacking midfielder by Amorim if he were to join from the Cherries next month.
Semenyo. hailed as ‘world-class‘ by Justin Kluivert, has dazzled with his attacking contributions, but he has been solid with his defensive involvements too. He has won 6 duels 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 seek to pay his £65 million release clause, which will be active for the first 10 days of January.
The former Bristol City man is a proven Premier League star, having excelled over the last 18 months at Bournemouth. He would require literally no time to make an impact and could boost United’s prospects of securing Champions League football next season.
