Fabrizio Romano: Manchester City target ‘different’ deal for Antoine Semenyo despite release clause | OneFootball

Hugo Viana and Manchester City will aim to do a deal for Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo with a potentially different ‘structure’, despite the player’s release clause.

City have won the race to sign Semenyo in the January transfer window after a host of English top-flight sides – including Manchester United, Tottenham, Chelsea and Liverpool – vested their interest in the 25-year-old winger in recent months.

Semenyo is keen on moving on from the Vitality Stadium to make a step up in his career as he enters his prime, having raised his stock as one of England’s best, home-grown stars in recent campaigns in the south coast.

Pep Guardiola is keen to introduce reinforcements to a frontline that has been overly reliant on Erling Haaland since Julian Alvarez’s £82 million departure to Atletico Madrid last summer, with the Catalan having led Manchester City’s interest in the Ghana international.

City are competing on all fronts this season despite being in an embryonic stage of their transition under Viana, who replaced long-serving executive Txiki Begiristain as director of football in the summer and made sweeping changes to Guardiola’s squad in the backdrop of a sobering 2024-25 campaign.

The Blues are in pole position to qualify for the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 stage after securing a monumental 2-1 win over Real Madrid in the group-stage earlier this month, having also registered their berth in the Carabao Cup semi-final last week after seeing off Brentford at the Etihad Stadium.

Guardiola needs as much ammunition that he can get to sustain his side’s aspirations for silverware this season and though Haaland has shown time and time again this season that he is more than capable to single-handedly shoulder his side’s goalscoring responsibilities, a potential injury to the Norway international can effectively end City’s hopes for the title.

Manchester City are not expected to be as active in the January market as they were in the summer but Viana and co will be delighted to plug a major loophole in the current squad as the Blues look to keep up the pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal and usurp Mikel Arteta’s high-flying Gunners.

It was widely reported in recent months that Semenyo has a £65 million release clause in his contract at the Vitality Stadium that can be activated in January, with reports this week suggesting this clause is only valid until January 10.

According to the information of transfer market insider Fabrizio Romano, Manchester City and Bournemouth will be in direct contact this week for Semenyo.

While the player has a £65 million release clause available in his contract until January 10, it is explained that City will approach the Cherries to discuss a ‘potential different deal structure and payment terms’.

Manchester City are expected to close a deal for the winger before the turn of the year, with major doubts over whether Semenyo will be involved in Bournemouth’s upcoming festive league games against Brentford and Chelsea.