Word is that Antoine Semenyo's people are flying to Manchester to possibly wrap up a move to Man City. Word on the street is that the Bournemouth star's team wants to talk contract terms over his £65 million release clause, which is good until January 10. Semenyo wants his future sorted out by the start of next month, but we'll see if a deal actually happens.

Semenyo Seemed Happy at Bournemouth

Half a year ago, it didn't look like Semenyo was going anywhere. The guy, age 25, signed a five-year deal with Bournemouth lasting until 2030  and had nothing but good things to say.

After signing, he said: I've 2030 and, "I'vegotten way better at the club, both as a player and as a person, and I'm stoked to have signed before coming back for pre-season. , "I'vepreseason." Everyone is great, from the fans to the staff to my teammates. It's awesome preseason." awesome, and I'm hyped to get back to Bournemouth.

Bournemouth's president of football operations, Tiago Pinto, said Semenyo had been a big part of the club's jump in standing and was a key member of their project in play.

He said, We're awesome.  "We have a great thing going with Antoine "WeAntoine, and we're ready to keep that going because we wish to build on a record-setting season." Antoine, season." He's as into the club as we are!

Now it's late December, and things seem pretty different.

Iraola Doesn't Want Semenyo to Leave

Bournemouth began the season great, even hitting second place in the Premier League. But after a stinky string of games, they're now down in 15th and haven't won any of their last five league matches. Even so, the Ghana player has scored eight goals and made three assists in 17 matches. That's why Bournemouth's boss, Andoni Iraola, wants to keep the quick winger.

He said last week, I'd like Antoine to play as many games as he can for us. The more the better! If he can play years for us, even better! If he can only play for weeks, it's something, but more time with us is superior for us. Antoine's situation is pretty simple: he is a huge player for us, and even in games where he hasn't played all that well, he is always a threat to score. Of course, I don't want to lose him. That's clear, but sometimes things are not in my hands. He can play in three days versus Chelsea and then the next game!

Man City to Win Transfer?

Even with interest from Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester United, and Chelsea, City looks like they will get Semenyo, age 25. Semenyo wants his Bournemouth future figured out by the January transfer window, and his people will try to concur with City and get terms cleared away. Pep Guardiola's side is said to be the only team to have called Bournemouth about his release clause.

What's Next for Semenyo and Man City?

If City can get this deal done, Semenyo's last game for Bournemouth could be on Tuesday against Chelsea. City plays on January 1 against Sunderland, followed by a home game against Chelsea three days later. If deals move fast, Semenyo could be in place for one of those matches.

Pep Guardiola thinks Manchester City's title challenge comeback isn't about fancy tactics. He said after their tough win against Nottingham Forest that it's all bull****.

He believes the team bounced back from last season's dip because they found their energy again.

"Energy, energy, energy," he said. We lost it last season.

They found it in America during the Club World Cup, where team bonding helped the tired players get a new spark. New players who made an immediate impact helped, too.

Rayan Cherki, who cost €36.5m from Lyon, was the hero this weekend, scoring the winning goal and helping Tijani Reijnders, another newbie from Milan, score the first one.

Cherki is now starting to shine, but it took him a bit to get used to the Premier League. Guardiola still sees some ups and downs in the French attacker's game, but at the City Ground, he wanted Cherki to show his talent.

Guardiola admitted, Sometimes I shout at him, and sometimes I want to kiss him. I have mixed feelings about him.”

But Guardiola seemed happy with Pep Lijnders, the assistant coach. Reijnders' goal came from an adjustment that Guardiola was downplaying. Forest did well to stop City in the first half, only letting them take blocked shots from far away.

But moving Reijnders into a more attacking midfield spot let him run forward unmarked to get Cherki's pass. Guardiola immediately pointed at Lijnders in the technical area and gave him a big hug to show who came up with the switch.

Forest fought back, with Omari Hutchinson scoring, but Cherki scored the winner after Josko Gvardiol headed down Phil Foden's corner. City then switched to a five-defender formation for the final minutes.

"It was a nightmare, a really hard game," Guardiola said. At 75 minutes, I thought if we draw or lose, I'd congratulate Forest because of their Premier League passion.” He felt they would have lost this game last season ten out of ten times, but they kept pushing and believing.

That's why energy is so important to their comeback. It doesn’t mean you're going to win, but you can see the team, he said. Now we have eight wins in a row. It's not easy to do what we do. We need to get better, but this mindset is better.

“After that, we can talk about three defenders, four defenders, wingers, or fullbacks—that's all bull****. We needed energy, and then you have a good environment.

“Last season, how often did you see me judging and criticising the club? I could; I have big numbers in my career as a manager. How many? Never, ever. It's not about you or you or you; it was something… Something was in the fog in Manchester, around our training centre. We missed something.”

Even during last season's rough patch, when injuries and a tight schedule led to an older team finishing far behind Liverpool, he says he never lost hope they'd get their spark back.

“Energy can go down, but energy can go up,” he said. It’s never the same in life. You're never happy or sad all the time. You have to know why to know what we missed to come back. Everything in life… There is the sentence, right? This too shall pass.”

Things improved at their fancy place in Boca Raton, Florida, even though Guardiola was annoyed they lost to Al-Hilal in FIFA's new tournament.

Everyone was happy, he said, with the sun and beach helping. We had a lot of dinners and talks about what to do next season. We wanted to stay longer, just to feel that. I think we turned around there and felt something had changed.

Losing two of their first three Premier League games might just be because the new players needed time to adjust.

“Still, we were figuring out how to get the best out of the players, what they're good at. Sometimes it takes time. Managers aren't magicians; we can't just snap our fingers and make everything clear. You have to find out how they can play as a team.”

Guardiola says this is still a work in progress. People praise him for changing things up more than ever before, adjusting the style for different opponents, but it's also because of who's available to him.

The latest problem is the missing wide players. Oscar Bobb and Jeremy Doku are injured, and Omar Marmoush is at the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt.

We only have one winger now; the others are injured, he said. We have to change the way we do things. You have to realise, 'Oh, it's not working; we need to change a bit.'

“It’s new players, and the opponents always face us in different ways. Winning helps this process move forward.”

This should make Arsenal feel uneasy.