Tottenham threatening to hijack Manchester City pursuit of £65M Premier League star | OneFootball

One of Manchester City’s competitors have intensified their interest in Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo, whose £65 million release clause could be triggered in January 2026, as per a new report.

Since the Portuguese replaced Manchester City’s long-serving sporting director, Hugo Viana has openly scaled the transfer market for reinforcements in attack as the Blues look to rebuild their squad in the backdrop of a dismal, trophyless 2024-25 season.

City have turned a corner since their early season slump but Guardiola’s options in the final third appear narrow amid a worrying over-reliance on Erling Haaland to score and with Phil Foden, Rayan Cherki, Jeremy Doku and Haaland playing a large majority of games, particularly since September.

There are concerns over the fitness of those playing frequently and whether or not they will be able to maintain the demands of featuring in multiple games per week without sustaining an injury, with the 2026 FIFA World Cup also on the horizon.

As a result, City have monitored Semenyo for some time and are willing to pay the release clause, which is broken down as £60 million plus £5 million in add-ons. Plausibly, the Ghana international is believed to prefer staying in England, as opposed to moving abroad.

But Guardiola’s side face intensifying competition from Tottenham Hotspur, who are looking for a left winger despite being put off by the Cherries’ valuation in the summer that exceeded £70 million, according to Sky Sports. 

Thomas Frank’s side appear more ready to pay what is required to land Semenyo, who has contributed nine times – six goals and three assists – across 13 appearances for Bournemouth so far this season. 

Still, the winger has plenty of teams to choose from if all of them are to materialise their interest with a formal offer. Liverpool and Arsenal are equally attracted by the 25-year-old but it is thought that Spurs and City currently lead the running.

Liverpool, though they have underperformed massively so far this term, disbursed £446 million in the summer transfer window – which is the most ever spent by a Premier League club in a single transfer period – and Arsenal already have several players who can play on the left side of attack – making for an unnecessary deal.

Semenyo, whose nation will not travel to the Africa Cup of Nations later in December, has impressed with his pace, strength and attacking drive – which has sung the praises of coaches from all around the world, including Guardiola.

In the buildup to City’s 3-1 victory against Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium in November, the 54-year-old praised Semenyo as a ‘very good’ forward and an ‘extraordinary player’.

It is likely that Semenyo will be required if City want to challenge Arsenal for the Premier League title. A rocky start to the season saw the Blues fall behind Mikel Arteta’s side – who are yet to be knocked off the top-spot.

Recent lapses have given City’s opponents the chances to take advantage of poor offensive output but the inclusion of Semenyo will make the entirety of Guardiola’s attack much more lethal, which is needed if they want to grasp strong title credentials in the second half of this season.