Thomas Frank reveals Manchester City beat Tottenham to “big signing” despite ‘doing everything’ | OneFootball

Manchester City defeated Tottenham to the signing of Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth, Thomas Frank has admitted during his latest media activity.

City secured the arrival of Semenyo from Bournemouth for £64 million to turbocharge their aspirations for silverware in the second half of the campaign, seeing off competition from a number of Premier League rivals for the forward.

Semenyo has made a flying start to life in the north-west, scoring thrice in his first fortnight in Manchester City colours as Pep Guardiola and co look to cut Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League and compete for silverware on several fronts.

The Blues have been heavily reliant on Erling Haaland in the final third since Julian Alvarez departed for Atletico Madrid in 2024 – and Semenyo’s arrival has already taken a great deal of burden away from Haaland’s capable yet humane shoulders.

Guardiola is understood to have personally led Manchester City’s pursuit of Semenyo, who has established himself as one of the best attackers in the Premier League after a breathrough few seasons at the Vitality Stadium under Andoni Iraola.

City’s attack has been handed a completely new dimension by the 26-year-old, who was unfortunate to miss out for their Blues in their recent UEFA Champions League games against Bodo/Glimt and Galatasaray due to UEFA squad registration rules.

However, Semenyo returned to the Manchester City starting XI away at Tottenham on Sunday evening and previewing the game last week, Tottenham manager Thomas Frank was quizzed on his club’s desire to sway the Ghana international to north London.

“There’s no doubt, it was clear the club wanted to sign (Antoine) Semenyo, they did everything,” Frank said in a press conference on Friday.

“I think that’s a clear signal the Lewis family is very committed – a big signing, with finances and all that. That (Semenyo) is the quality of player we’re looking for.”

Guardiola will be ecstatic with City’s transfer business this month, with the Blues also adding Marc Guehi to their depleted defensive roster for a cut-throat £20 million fee from Crystal Palace – in the wake of injuries to Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea on January 4.

City have sanctioned permanent exits for Oscar Bobb and Stefan Ortega Moreno to Fulham and Nottingham Forest respectively this week, with the Blues inserting a 20 per cent sell-on clause in the former’s contract at the City Ground but not a buy-back clause.

Executives at the Etihad Stadium – led by sporting director Hugo Viana – are not expected to introduce further incomings to the first-team ranks, though there may be further departures, with Kalvin Phillips looking for a loan move to revitalise his career after a horrid time at the Etihad Stadium since joining from Leeds United in 2022.