Elite Prem star backed to snub Man City for Tottenham amid big Guardiola question – Merson | OneFootball

Paul Merson has backed Antoine Semenyo to head to Tottenham rather than Manchester City, amid a question over Pep Guardiola and the potential role the forward would play.

It has seemed for a while like a big battle for Semenyo has been brewing. The Bournemouth man has been one of the Premier League’s form players this term, with eight goals and three assists in 16 games.

But of late, City have pushed their way to the top of the pile for him. Fabrizio Romano revealed things were trending very much in the right direction for the transfer just before Christmas, and that seems to remain the case.

Liverpool are reportedly still alive in the race, though it’s felt Semenyo would rather head to City.

According to Merson, a different club entirely, Tottenham, could be where the winger lands.

Speaking on Sky Sports, he explained: “The one that you just said he wouldn’t go to, Tottenham.

“I look at Man United, I think he’d have to play at wing-back because they’ve got the two behind already and the way they play, unless he’s [Ruben Amorim] sort of trying that now to change it up to see if that’s going to be the way they’re going to play if they get Semenyo, like they did yesterday. That might be one of the reasons.

“Man City? We don’t know if Pep is going to be there next season. So for me, I think Tottenham.

“It’s really open, need a left-sided midfielder, there’s plenty of space and he’ll play every week. He plays every week at Bournemouth. Will he get used to being able to play two games, coming out for one or two, playing another two.

“He might be one of them players that needs to play week in, week out. It’s hard. The foreign players can do it, they’ve been used to it. But for English players, and especially for someone like him who has been playing consistently all the time, he might not like that.

“So, it’s one for him to think about. He’s got the world at his feet, and all he’s got to do is make sure, thank God, he doesn’t get injured in the next 12 days or so.”

A move to Tottenham wouldn’t be the biggest step forward, with both Bournemouth and Spurs in the bottom half of the table, while the Manchester sides and Liverpool are all within the Premier League’s top six.