Liverpool in dreamland as January’s most in-demand player chooses Anfield | OneFootball

The most in-demand player ahead of the January window who is being courted by both Manchester clubs as well as Tottenham has another idea in mind – he wants to join Liverpool.

Release clauses are increasingly common in modern-day football, and are often set above and beyond what a player’s true transfer value is at that time.

But in the case of Antoine Semenyo, the £65m (£60m plus £5m in add-ons) he can be signed for is now viewed as a massive underpayment.

The Bournemouth ace, 25, is equally adept at operating on either flank and only Erling Haaland and Igor Thiago – who are both strikers – have outscored the winger in the Premier League this season.

Accordingly, Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham and Liverpool have all mobilised, though there can only be one winner next month.

Semenyo’s clause is understood to be active from January 1 to January 10. A move in the very early stages of the winter window is therefore anticipated, and per the latest from The Guardian, a deal is Liverpool’s if they want it.

In an article that primarily focused on Man Utd’s winter window plans, the report declared: ‘United are also vying with Liverpool and Manchester City to sign Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth in early January but the forward is thought to favour joining Liverpool, with City his second choice, so Amorim faces a fight to convince him.’

The piece’s reporting backs up what TEAMtalk were told by transfer insider Graeme Bailey back on December 9.

Bailey explained: “There is a real chance that he could leave the Vitality Stadium in the new year, and sources have now confirmed to us that Semenyo has made it known that Liverpool are his first choice.”

Tottenham, meanwhile, are not expected to have a say in the race despite being prepared to make Semenyo their highest earning player.

Man Utd have presented their vision to Semenyo, while City are desperate to ease the goalscoring burden on Haaland.

Semenyo wants Liverpool… do Liverpool want Semenyo?

Fabrizio Romano recently reaffirmed Liverpool enquired into Semenyo’s situation back in November.

Many of the headlines around Semenyo since have been dominated by the Manchester clubs, but sources continue to stress to us that Liverpool are very much in the mix.

The Reds still have money to spend despite their colossal outlay last summer. The lucrative sales of stars like Caoimhin Kelleher, Jarell Quansah, Tyler Morton, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez means more signings can be made without falling foul of PSR regulations.

Furthermore, it’s been confirmed to us that Liverpool’s interest in Semenyo pre-dates the recent Mohamed Salah saga. It is NOT a case of Semenyo will only join if Salah leaves next month. Though of course, convincing Salah he still has a major role at Liverpool would become more difficult if a new winger like Semenyo arrived.

Another piece of the story working in Liverpool’s favour is the presence of Richard Hughes. He serves as Liverpool’s sporting director and is the man who previously signed Semenyo at Bournemouth while working as their sporting director.

While there’s still plenty that must be negotiated, the signs do now suggest Liverpool will sign Semenyo in January if they trigger the £65m release clause.

Latest Liverpool news – Isak injury / Elite Van Dijk successor

In other news, Slot admitted he has a bad ‘gut feeling’ about Alexander Isak’s injury after Liverpool’s battling 2-1 win at Tottenham on Saturday, while goalkeeper Alisson was in a much more positive frame of mind when it comes to how long the Swedish striker could be sidelined.