David Ornstein reveals Antoine Semenyo ‘would have’ chosen Man City’s rivals on one condition | OneFootball

Respected journalist David Ornstein has revealed which Big Six club ‘would have’ been chosen by Manchester City-bound Antoine Semenyo on one condition.

Semenyo has been one of the standout performers in the Premier League this term as he has shone for Bournemouth.

The talented winger has taken his game to another level this term, grabbing eight goals and three assists in his 16 Premier League appearances.

His form for Bournemouth has caught the attention of several Premier League rivals, including Man City, Man Utd, Liverpool, Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal.

Semenyo has a £65m release clause in his contract, which becomes active for a brief window in January, with this increasing his chances of leaving Bournemouth in the winter rather than the summer.

It was initially felt that a move to Liverpool was most likely, though reports in recent weeks have indicated that Man City and Man Utd were the new leaders in the race.

Unsurprisingly, Man City have been preferred to Man Utd, with a report earlier this week revealing he has opted for a move to the Etihad.

Now, Ornstein has revealed to The Athletic that ‘City are expected to take steps in the coming days to formalise the situation’, while ‘Bournemouth will utilise their player and keep contingency planning for the event of his exit’ in the meantime.

However, it is also claimed that the winger ‘would have’ chosen to join Arsenal if they made more an effort to secure his services next month.

The report explains: ‘There is a feeling Arsenal would have ranked as his first choice had they been firmly at the table, although many tipped Liverpool to prevail given their stuttering title defence, the uncertainty around Mohamed Salah, and Anfield sporting director Richard Hughes having originally recruited him to Bournemouth.

‘Tottenham tried again, proposing a highly competitive salary, only for Semenyo to politely decline their advances and that resulted in City and United then emerging as the leading contenders. A late enquiry from Chelsea did not change the direction of travel and despite Liverpool losing Alexander Isak to injury, it was City who The Athletic revealed as Semenyo’s chosen destination.’

Regarding Arsenal, the same report claims Semenyo was ‘naturally interested in the prospect of a move to the Emirates’ after ‘growing up’ as a fan of the Gunners and the ‘admiration was mutual’.

Despite this, Arsenal made it clear that their ‘interest was on the basis of a summer move rather than January’, with Man City winning the race due to him being ‘eager to move soon’.