Liverpool are reportedly keeping a close eye on Bournemouth’s star player Antoine Semenyo, who is now valued at a whopping £75million after another impressive season that kicked off with a double strike at Anfield.
Despite the departure of some of his high-profile team-mates last summer, Semenyo opted to stay put at the Vitality Stadium. Now, Liverpool are considering making a move for him, with sporting director Richard Hughes being a long-time admirer of Semenyo from his time at Bournemouth, where he signed him from Bristol City.
Back then, Semenyo was bought for a mere £10.5m, but given his consistent performance at Bournemouth, talkSPORTreports that he could now be sold for over seven times that amount. His excellent start to the season only strengthens Bournemouth’s belief that their hefty price tag is justified.
The Ghanaian forward has already netted six goals this season, with only Erling Haaland outscoring him in the Premier League. His individual brilliance continues to boost Andoni Iraola’s side, which once again finds itself among the top teams.
Manchester United and Tottenham both considered signing Semenyo last summer, and it’s understood that the Red Devils are still monitoring the player. However, he ended up signing a new contract with Bournemouth, while Ruben Amorim brought in Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo instead.
The United boss is said to have dined with Semenyo in London at the end of last season to assess the player’s character. CEO Omar Berrada and transfer chief Jason Wilcox also engaged in talks with Bournemouth regarding the former Robins star, but no deal was reached.
United were prepared to shell out £55m for Semenyo, who netted 13 goals last season. However, it’s reported that the player himself pledged his future to Bournemouth after discovering that the Manchester club planned to offer him a lower wage than other targets.
Liverpool’s interest in Semenyo might be seen as unexpected, particularly considering their abundance of attacking players and the ongoing challenge of integrating them into an effective team. Hugo Ekitike, Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz were all brought in during the summer.
They join existing players Mohamed Salahand Cody Gakpo. One player who did make the move from Bournemouth to Liverpool recently was Milos Kerkez, but the Hungarian has so far struggled to match his previous performance levels at Anfield, often playing second fiddle to Andy Robertson.