Liverpool backed to STUN Man City and mount staggering Antoine Semenyo transfer hijack with pundit ‘ready for a twist’ | OneFootball

Liverpool are not out of the race to sign Antoine Semenyo yet and are on course to hijack Manchester City’s agreement, according to Jamie Redknapp, while TEAMtalk can dissect what would happen were the Reds to make a concrete move.

Semenyo has been forced to wait for his exit away from the Vitality Stadium towards the latter days of when his clause is active. And Bournemouth will certainly be glad that they did after the livewire winger scored a stunning last-gasp winner for the Cherries as they recorded a vital 3-2 win over Tottenham – their first win in 11 games.

It will prove the perfect parting gift from the winger, 26 on Wednesday, as he nears a £65m exit from the south coast, with Manchester City having won the race for his signature.

Our transfer correspondent Graeme Bailey was able to reveal, in the minutes after an agreement was struck, the full truths over the Ghana international has chosen the Etihad Stadium as his next home.

Indeed, Semenyo was ultimately left with two choices on where to join: City or Manchester United, after rival suitors Tottenham and Chelsea dropped from the running and with Liverpool opting against making a formal bid.

However, pundit Jamie Redknapp is adamant the Merseysiders are not out of the running yet and has revealed he’s heard that Arne Slot’s side are ready to launch a move of their own to hijack the deal.

“Where he goes next I’m not so sure,” Redknapp began on Sky Sports. “Everyone thinks Manchester City is a foregone conclusion; I’m not so sure. I think there’s going to be a little bit of a twist still…”

Asked to explain more by host Dave Jones, he added: “I think Liverpool could still be in the equation; I’ve got to be honest, and I think that if they did come in, there’s a deal there for them. It’s what I am hearing…

“Why they’ve not come in quite so strongly, I think, is a surprise, because if you look at that position with Mohamed Salah and what will happen with him, and how long he’s going to be at lithe club for, we don’t quite know…

“But if you’ve got a player of that quality, and he’s shown again he’s a match-winner, he turns up at the big moments, why would you not be in for him?

“So I’m not saying this is a Sky Sports News breaking moment, but all I’m saying is that I’ve heard tonight that it might not be the foregone conclusion everyone is saying it is, and there might still be a little twist.”

Will Semenyo join Man City or Liverpool as Iraola confirms exit?

As things stand, our sources have not heard anything to this point about Liverpool launching a hush-hush hijack on the deal and we understand the Reds have decided to make only small and minimal adjustments to their squad this month.

We also understand that Semenyo’s medical with City has been booked in for Thursday morning.

However, there has been some murmurings behind the scenes that all is not right between sporting director Richard Hughes and Slot, while the former is known to be a huge admirer of Semenyo, having signed him before for Bournemouth during his time at the Vitality Stadium.

And until the ink is dry on a contract, and the player is seen parading his new colours, then you never know!

Furthermore, Bailey reported for us way back on December 9 that Semenyo would opt for a move to Anfield were the Reds to come in. His clear preference for joining Liverpool has always been made clear to us, though their seeming lack of interest effectively left City with a clear run to his signature.

Bailey explained: “There is a real chance that he could leave the Vitality Stadium in the new year, and sources have now confirmed to us that Semenyo has made it known that Liverpool are his first choice.”

Wherever he ends up, Cherries boss Iraola knows he is saying farewell to his livewire winger, who scored his 10th goal of the season from 20 Premier League games during the win over Spurs.

“I am very happy for him. He deserves it,” Iraola claimed. “It was a fairy tale moment and one he will never forget. He’s an incredible player. Not a lot of players would have done what he did.”

Centre-back to join Liverpool; City chase France’s super-talented teen pair

Meanwhile, as Liverpool continue to maintain their interest in Marc Guehi despite Manchester City stepping up their pursuit of the Crystal Palace star, another defender has announced that he is moving to Anfield in the January transfer window after confirmation that he would be leaving Burnley.

On the subject of Guehi, TEAMtalk’s transfer correspondent, Dean Jones, reported this week that the Blues plan to bid £35million (€40.3m, $47.1m) for the Crystal Palace star in the January transfer window.

That is likely to give the Eagles a major headache with the player now just five months from departing for free at the end of his contract.

Elsewhere at the Etihad, City are assessing sister club Troyes, who currently have two of the best young French talents emerging, and with club officials keen to ensure they win the transfer race for the pair, sources can reveal.