Manchester United and Liverpool target Antoine Semenyo has been left out of Bournemouth’s squad for Saturday’s Cherries Premier League game against West Ham after failing to recover from an ankle injury. The winger aggravated the ligament injury while playing for Ghana during the international break.
Semenyo has been one of the best players in the Premier League this season, having already scored six goals and provided three assists in the top flight.
On the opening night of the season, he scored twice in Bournemouth’s 4-2 loss to Liverpool. Following the games against Brighton and Leeds, he also scored two goals against Fulham in October, helping the team win 3-1.
Semenyo joined the Ghanaian national team earlier this month when they traveled to Asia for back-to-back friendly matches against Japan and South Korea.
The 25-year-old started as the sole striker in the first game against Japan, which he captained, but was substituted just before time expired. He then returned to England as he was forced to miss the match against South Korea.
Speaking ahead of the game between Bournemouth and West Ham, Cherries manager Andoni Iraola explained: “Antoine is different. Justin (Kluivert) and Ben (Ganon Doak) have had muscle injuries, but Antoine’s injury didn’t happen when he was there.”
“He was already suffering from an ankle injury. I don’t know if he’ll play tomorrow or not. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Semenyo joined Bournemouth from Bristol City in January 2023 and signed a new contract at the Vitality Stadium in the summer.
According to The Athletic, Bournemouth have agreed to include a transfer clause in his contract, allowing Semenyo to leave his current team for £65m in January.
The clause must be triggered by a specific date, which has been set to give Bournemouth time to find a replacement before the January transfer window closes.
The newspaper reported that Semenyo was coveted by the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham in the summer and signed a new contract in July. And according to another report, Liverpool are prepared to take on these clubs over the player’s signature.
The Reds have been tracking the Ghanaian international for some time and their pursuit could accelerate when the January transfer window opens.
Bournemouth’s transfer chiefs are said to be aware of the interest in Semenyo and know they will face a battle to keep him. The Cherries hope to keep the player until next summer, but the possibility of him leaving in January has not been ruled out.
