Man City to beat Liverpool to Antoine Semenyo?! Pep Guardiola's side eye move to trigger Bournemouth star's £65m release clause ahead of Reds

As reported by The Times, Man City are 'exploring' a move for Semenyo and could opt to trigger his £65 million ($86m) release clause, which becomes active on January 1 for the early part of the transfer window.

The 25-year-old has already scored six goals in the league so far this season and laid on three assists, staking his claim to being one of the division’s most dangerous forwards after 13 goals last term. His form has attracted the interest of many of England’s biggest clubs - most notably, struggling Liverpool - as reports of the clause emerged earlier this autumn.

While City are ‘not yet fully committed’ to making a move according to the report, they are said to recognise the value that the Ghanaian could offer in sharing the goals with Haaland, who has scored 14 of the club’s 27 league goals. Phil Foden became just the second City player to surpass one league goal with his match-winning performance against Leeds United on Saturday.

Semenyo could also help fill a hole in attack when Egyptian forward Omar Marmoush departs for the Africa Cup of Nations. Ghana have not qualified for AFCON for the first time in 21 years, so Semenyo himself will not be competing in the tournament.  

Elsewhere in the City forward line, wingers Savinho and Oscar Bobb have struggled to impact games so far this season, while Jeremy Doku has begun to take his game to new levels but has still scored just once in the league. The Belgian and Semenyo could form a devastating wide pair flanking Haaland if the Cherries man were to arrive at the Etihad.

Bournemouth’s outstanding early-season form has tailed off in recent weeks, with Andoni Iraola’s side falling away from the top four and towards mid-table. This only makes it more likely that their star man will depart in the winter, with interest likely only to ramp up as we near New Year’s Day. 

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Speaking on November 21, Iraola declined to speculate about what will happen regarding the future of Semenyo in January, but appeared to have an air of resignation to the fact that their talisman will be hot property when the window opens.

"We are in November and Antoine is our player. He will continue being our player," Iraola told reporters.

"In January, you can ask me about the market. For now, I am not worried about the next market. It is November and I am more worried about the situation of players for tomorrow. In January, we will talk about whatever happens."

From a City perspective, the need to share the goals around the team and that fact was reiterated by Foden following Saturday’s 3-2 victory over Leeds.

“If I look over the pitch, we’ve got loads of goalscorers, but for whatever reason it’s not really kicked off yet — but I think it’s starting to do that now and other players are helping Erling with the goals,” said Foden, who has scored six times in all competitions.

“It can’t just come from him every game. As you can see today, when he’s fully marked out of the game other players have to step up.”

He added: “When the opponents get better in the later stages of the season, we can’t afford to play like this because we’re going to lose the league.

“We have to put things right and get better and just work hard on the training pitch.”

As Arsenal continue to shine at the top of the table, the January market could be key for Guardiola’s men if they hope to turn the tide.

Semenyo is one of the outstanding options on the market at a relatively affordable price, and it will be intriguing to see which sides, if anyone, make a bid for him in the new year.