January 9 – Manchester City have kicked the high-rolling January transfer market into life, triggering Antoine Semenyo’s £65 million release clause at Bournemouth to land one of the Premier League’s currently most productive attackers – and doing so ahead of a crowded field of rivals.
Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham all tracked the 26-year-old, but City’s willingness to meet the clause in full brought a quick conclusion to talks. In a market where elite forwards are increasingly scarce and routinely valued above of £80 million, City believe they have secured a player entering his prime at a fee that will look increasingly modest.
For Bournemouth, the deal represents a major financial win. Signed from Bristol City for £10 million in January 2023, Semenyo leaves the south coast having multiplied his value more than sixfold in two years.
Pep Guardiola has gained a physically robust, high-output forward as his side attempt to close ground on Arsenal after a run of damaging draws. Longer-term, Semenyo fits a familiar City profile: Premier League-proven, tactically adaptable and entering peak earning and performance years, rather than a speculative project.
The move also starves the other Premier League teams – each arguably more in-need of Semenyo’s attacking talent – of an elite forward option for quite a modest price.
The Ghanaian arrives as the league’s third top scorer, with 10 goals and three assists, and a shot accuracy of 55% – the second-highest among players with five or more goals this season. He will be missed on the South coast, though – 22 goal involvements across the calendar year is the most ever recorded by a Bournemouth player in the Premier League era.
Only Erling Haaland and Brentford’s Igor Thiago have been directly involved in more league goals this season.
While Semenyo’s chance creation and dribble efficiency lag behind some of City’s existing wide options, his volume and directness offer a contrast within Guardiola’s squad. Excluding blocked efforts, only Haaland and Jean-Philippe Mateta have taken more shots in the league this campaign, while Semenyo ranks fourth overall for attempted dribbles.
Guardiola’s admiration for the player was already public before City accelerated the deal. “He’s an extraordinary, extraordinary, extraordinary player,” the City manager said earlier this season. “His energy, his confidence, his movement – unbelievable. He doesn’t stop running. When he has the ball, you feel something will happen. Players like him make this league special.”
For Semenyo, the move caps one of English football’s sharpest recent rises, from Bristol City to Bournemouth to the Etihad in just three years.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1767964396labto1767964396ofdlr1767964396owedi1767964396sni@g1767964396niwe.1767964396yrrah1767964396
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