Man Utd’s Antoine Semenyo ‘agreement’ revealed as ‘lowball offer’ destroys shock transfer | OneFootball

A respected transfer journalist has revealed exactly how close Manchester United were to the signing of Antoine Semenyo, before their attempts to sign him on the cheap backfired and pushed him into Manchester City’s arms, and with the Cityzens now told when they can expect to seal his signing from Bournemouth.

Semenyo is waiting to complete the formalities of his move to Etihad Stadium after Manchester City agreed to trigger the £65m (£60m plus £5m in add-ons) payment in his Bournemouth contract, inserted over the summer.

After a brilliant season in which he has scored eight times and added three assists from 16 Premier League games, it soon became clear that Andoni Iraola’s side would lose their talismanic star soon after the January window opened for business.

But while it is City who have beaten off the competition from the rest of the big six for Semenyo’s services, our sources have revealed why both the explosive Ghana international winger has chosen the Etihad and the three reasons why a move to long-time admirers Liverpool did not materialise either.

Now, according to transfer journalist Duncan Castles, Manchester United also reached an agreement for the star’s services, only to see the deal scuppered by their attempts to ‘lowball’ him on wages.

“As we discussed in the podcast in September, Ruben Amorim met Semenyo in person to assess his character,” Castles said on the Transfers Podcast.

“United had agreed personal terms with the player only for Semenyo to discover that their salary offer to him was significantly less than what they’d given Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.

“This allowed Bournemouth to persuade the player to sign a new contract with a release clause.”

When will Antoine Semenyo complete Manchester City transfer?

With City winning the race for his signature, the player had made it clear he had expressed a wish for the move to go through as quickly as the window opened for business.

Ultimately, though, and with the clause in his deal active until January 10, Bournemouth boss Iraola – nervous about his side’s downward spiral that has seen them fail to win a game of football in 10 games, dating back to October 26 – had asked for the deal to be delayed until the closing hours of its arrangement.

That could leave the 25-year-old having to wait another week before being presented as a Manchester City player.

Now, according to our transfer correspondent, Graeme Bailey, Semenyo has told Bournemouth he won’t refuse to play for the club against Arsenal (later on Saturday) or Tottenham (on Wednesday), if picked, after Iraola won a battle of wills on the south coast.

That verdict has also been reflected by Castles, who added: “I understand that Bournemouth expect to keep the player for the next two games.

“The clause is valid for the first 10 days of January only, and they’re running it to the end of the clause before allowing him to go to another club.”

He continued: “Pretty much all the top clubs in the Premier League have tried to exploit [Semenyo’s release clause].

“Manchester United came back in. Chelsea enquired. Liverpool looked at time. Tottenham made an offer and failed again because he decided Manchester City was the most attractive club to move to.”

Man Utd round-up: Sensational £127m triple deal in works; Mateta move issue

Meanwhile, United are planning moves for Atalanta’s Ederson Silva alongside stars from the Premier League and France this month, according to reports, as an impressive £127m triple deal gathers pace for Ruben Amorim’s side.

One of the top midfield targets for United has always been Carlos Baleba, and now sources have revealed that Brighton are bracing themselves for renewed interest in the Cameroon star this month and with their stance on keeping the midfielder coming to light.