‘Furious’ Semenyo loses Iraola battle as Man City forced to wait on £65m transfer | OneFootball

Antoine Semenyo has told Bournemouth he won’t refuse to play for the club against Arsenal or Tottenham in the next week, if picked, after Cherries boss Andoni Iraola won a battle of wills on the south coast, sources have informed TEAMtalk.

However, we understand that an angry Semenyo would rather not play as he is on the brink of completing a £65million switch to Premier League rivals Manchester City.

We’ve been made aware that Semenyo’s camp has made it clear to Bournemouth he should not be playing, but they confirmed he won’t withhold his services.

City accelerated talks with Bournemouth on Thursday and the two clubs are now formalising their contracts.

Semenyo has already agreed terms and was anticipating having a medical this weekend, but he could now be featuring against Arsenal instead.

It’s all down to Iraola being firm with Bournemouth’s hierarchy that he wants him to play.

City, for their part, would rather Semenyo did not play, but Iraola, as it stands, will get his wish.

Chelsea knew about Enzo Maresca being on the radar of Manchester City as a potential successor to Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium, with sources telling TEAMtalk whether the Italian manager got ahead of himself.

Elsewhere, Nathan Ake has rejected an approach from West Ham United to join them on loan this month, sources confirm, as the defender awaits other potential opportunities away from Manchester City.