SOURCES: Antoine Semenyo To Manchester City Could Open Door For Yan Diomande To Manchester United | OneFootball

Manchester City are set to wrap up a deal for Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth over the next couple of weeks, with the release clause of £65m anticipated to be paid before January 10th. Manchester United showed clear and concrete interest in Semenyo.

The player was offered to the club back when he was at Bristol City by his agent at the time, and Jason Wilcox was well aware of Semenyo from his time at Bournemouth before joining Manchester United from his post at Southampton. United had kept an eye on Semenyo from the time he was offered to them in the past, and decided to make their move again after some summer conversations took place.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – AUGUST 15: Antoine Semenyo of AFC Bournemouth during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Bournemouth at Anfield on August 15, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Semenyo chooses city

Unfortunately for United, Semenyo has chosen blue, despite already playing in black and red. The Ghananian is enticed by the lure of Pep Guardiola and the glittering trophy cabinet of Manchester City over the last decade, and feels that project gives him the best route to success over the coming years of his career.

It’s hard to argue that Antoine Semenyo is wrong. Joining Manchester United gives you no guarantee of trophies, and many a career has gone by the wayside in recent seasons at Old Trafford. Although, as a caveat to that, some wingers have struggled under the guidance of Guardiola in recent years, with Omar Marmoush, Jack Grealish and Savinho all examples of that.

Semenyo would not have played as a wing-back at United under Ruben Amorim, with the club briefing that they would have switched their system for the player. A noble sacrifice for a player who is admired and has been admired for a long time, but a sacrifice they may not have to make anymore. United are now expected to divert their attention away from the attacking positions for the January window, and could look towards signing a midfielder instead. Ruben Neves has been linked in recent weeks with Elliot Anderson and Carlos Baleba, currently top of the pile in regards to primary targets internally.

United Admire Diomande

LEIPZIG, GERMANY – DECEMBER 06: Yan Diomande of RB Leipzig celebrates scoring his team’s sixth goal during the Bundesliga match between RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt at Red Bull Arena on December 06, 2025 in Leipzig, Germany. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

Missing out on Semenyo, however, will not end United’s pursuit of another player, and Yan Diomande is someone United are expected to be in the hunt for over the coming months. We understand United’s interest in Diomande is real. They admire the player, but as of right now, no concrete talks between clubs have taken place as of yet. Diomande is likely to be a summer transfer for the club. Relationships between United and RB Leipzig are good, especially after the Benjamin Sesko deal, and United could use that to their advantage in the race for the Ivorian. Amad could also prove key in the deal, with Diomande being a fellow teammate of the United winger at the international level.

Yan is not the only Diomande from the Ivory Coast that United have shown interest in over the last 12 months. Ousmane Diomande was another player the Red’s tracked, made contact with and discussed a potential transfer with in recent months, but Diomande remained at Sporting, and almost joined Crystal Palace in the summer window.

Diomande has no release clause in his contract if recent reports are to be believed, which may make a potential transfer easier for United, with cash flow being an important topic of conversation internally at the club.

Nothing concrete yet, but Semenyo was not the only target Manchester United had, and Yan Diomande is someone to look out for in connection with the club in the coming months.