Report reveals huge Man Utd blunder as they wouldn’t pay £70m for dream transfer | OneFootball

Manchester United reportedly wouldn’t pay the £70m asking price for Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo in the summer, viewing it as too high and going for Bryan Mbeumo instead.

The Red Devils are now one of the clubs looking at Semenyo as a transfer target for January, as previously reported via the Daily Briefing.

Still, it looks like Man Utd might well have blown their chance as they held talks over Semenyo in the summer before ultimately deciding against the move, according to the Athletic.

Manchester United considered Antoine Semenyo but went for Bryan Mbeumo instead

The Athletic’s report explains that United are still one of the clubs interested in Semenyo, and that they did some work on a potential deal during the summer.

Antoine Semenyo in action for AFC Bournemouth (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

£70m proved too costly for MUFC at the time, prompting them to bring in Mbeumo instead, and he’s proven a superb signing so far.

Still, Semenyo has also continued to shine for Bournemouth, and has arguably only taken his game up a level in the last few months.

See the table below as the Ghana international has a hugely impressive record this season, putting him behind only Manchester City’s Erling Haaland on goal contributions…

Who could sign Antoine Semenyo in January?

Semenyo is sure to be a man in demand again this winter after such an electrifying start to the campaign, but can United still be one of the favourites?

The Athletic’s report also mentions the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham as potential suitors for the 25-year-old, so it could be an intriguing transfer battle.

It seems Semenyo’s release clause has gone down, however, with the player now available for more like £65m, while that could drop even further by next summer.

United surely still need Semenyo as he can play in a variety of attacking positions, potentially giving Ruben Amorim an upgrade on Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko.

Meanwhile, loaned-out misfits like Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Rasmus Hojlund surely won’t be coming back to Old Trafford and will need replacing.