Liverpool, Bournemouth transfer talk will be turning Bristol City heads - it could help unlock Robins promotion key | OneFootball

Antoine Semenyo's exit from Ashton Gate came with a sell-on clause that could soon be triggered

Bristol City have sold several high-profile talents for a profit in their recent history, although the club, as a collective, has still been unable to reach the same heights as those former Ashton Gate favourites.

The Robins are, arguably, one of the most stereotypical 'sleeping giants' currently residing in the Championship, having failed to return to the elite of English football ever since their most recent relegation from the top flight, which came at the conclusion of 1979/80.

As such, three generations of City supporters have known nothing but their club being EFL-based, often flirting between the second tier and what is now known as League One in several instances.

Last season was just the second time which the West Country side had threatened to end a 45-year hiatus from the top division, albeit a first play-off campaign since 2007/08 ended in record-breaking fashion for all the wrong reasons, as the Robins were dismantled 6-0 on aggregate by Sheffield United in the semi-finals.

Following Liam Manning's post-season exit to divisional rivals, Norwich City, former Barnsley boss, Gerhard Struber is the man currently tasked with eventually achieving promotion, having been integral in FC Koln's return to the Bundesliga last term prior to a bizarre dismissal before the season's end.

It has been a steady start to the Austrian's tenure in BS3, although he will hope to address a winless run of four games that has seen his side fall to 10th.

Yet, whilst the main focus in this part of the world is hoping that their side can keep pace with the likes of Coventry City, Middlesbrough and Leicester City, some major transfer discourse could also help Struber achieve the aforementioned aims of promotion through a potential cash windfall.

Liverpool, AFC Bournemouth transfer talk for Antoine Semenyo could benefit Bristol City

That's because, right now, not many Premier League players are generating as much hype as ex-Robins attacker, Antoine Semenyo.

The Ghanaian has been the 'poster boy' at AFC Bournemouth across the opening seven top flight encounters, with the Cherries currently residing in third, just two points behind early-season leaders, Arsenal.

Semenyo had endured a rather mixed spell after breaking through City's academy setup and into the first-team fold, not enjoying a major breakthrough until the 2020/21 season under Dean Holden and Nigel Pearson.

It would be the following season, though, that the winger would start to catch the eye of clubs higher up the food chain, as he was responsible for 20 of City's 62 strikes through his combined goals and assists tally, before the Robins rejected a £9m bid for his services in July 2022.

However, it felt inevitable that a top-flight move would be the order of the day once Semenyo scored a further six times and posted two assists in his final 23 league games, moving to Dorset for a £10.5m fee ahead of Crystal Palace.

Since then, the 25-year-old hasn't looked back under Gary O'Neil or Andoni Iraola, with the Basque coach, in particular, well and truly getting the best out of Semenyo, which included 11 goals and six assists in the league last term, as he was tied down to a long-term contract amid well-documented transfer interest.

However, it has recently been reported that the man who ranks second for goals and goal involvement in 2025/26 thus far, is valued at north of £75m amid interest from Liverpool, who he scored two stunning efforts against in the pulsating 4-2 defeat in the Premier League's curtain-raiser at Anfield.

It remains to be seen how much cash this would inject into Steve Lansdown's coffers. However, it is certain that, with such a staggering fee placed on his head by Bournemouth, City could be looking at an eight-figure sum as early as January through a sell-on clause that could immediately be reinvested into the playing squad.

Antoine Semenyo move could soften previous Bristol City windfall blows

As previously mentioned, Semenyo isn't the only high-profile star whose development has been massively aided through spells at Ashton Gate, with the same applying to his Vitality Stadium teammate, Alex Scott, who moved to Bournemouth for £25m just months later.

It was also hoped that the Robins would receive a major windfall due to the progression of centre-back Lloyd Kelly, who also moved to the South Coast side for £13m in May 2019.

Unsurprisingly, the composed defender's trajectory went in the way many expected it too, with the homegrown talent and England youth international eventually becoming Cherries captain and the subject of major transfer interest.

As much as his move to Newcastle United last summer would come as no surprise, with the Magpies managed by his former boss, Eddie Howe, it would have come as a slight sickener to the Robins hierarchy and then-boss, Manning, that they would be unable to reinvest a windfall into the squad as Kelly moved to the North East following the expiration of his Bournemouth contract.

However, with Semenyo still having five years left on his recently penned deal, there is no chance of such misfortune occuring again, and City could be grateful to their former academy star if his exploits start a domino effect which eventually ends in promotion.