Chelsea will face Antoine Semenyo on Tuesday night when Bournemouth visit Stamford Bridge. The Blues’ interest in the winger cooled after making inquiries just before Christmas.
Semenyo has had a sensational season at the Vitality Stadium, scoring his eighth Premier League goal of the season in Cherries’ 4-1 defeat to Brentford on Saturday. He has attracted interest from the likes of Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham, but it appears he could join Manchester City during the January transfer window.
Semenyo’s contract has a release clause of £65m which must be triggered by January 10th.
And on Monday it was reported that Chelsea had joined the race to sign the player, who intrigued the Blues during his time at Bristol City.
But it has since emerged that Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is happy to continue to trust the winger he already has at his disposal.
And Semenyo is likely to start against the Cherries in the Premier League clash in west London, which could spell disaster for Maresca’s side in midweek.
Bournemouth go into the game looking to turn things around after a dismal performance. The Dorset club were second in the top flight in October, but have dropped to 15th with just four points from their last nine league games.
Chelsea, on the other hand, will be hoping to get their season back on track after winning just one of their last five league games.
Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola was asked in January if the club wanted to receive Semenyo’s transfer fee as soon as possible after his team lost to the Bees.
The Spaniard replied: “No, the more games Antoine can play for us, the better. If he can play for us for years, that’s much better. If he can’t do it for years, then months are fine. If he can only play for a few weeks, that’s a few weeks, but the more time he can play with us, the better for us.”
“The situation with Antoine is very clear. Antoine is a big player for us and even in games like today, where he probably hasn’t played well, he’s always a threat to score and assist.
“Of course I don’t want to lose him. This is very clear, but there are some circumstances that are not in my control. He will be able to play again in three days (against Chelsea) and the next game after that. And I hope he plays more with us.”
