BREAKING NEWS: ANTOINE SEMENYO JOINS MANCHESTER CITY IN STUNNING RECORD £64 MILLION TRANSFER DEAL
Antoine Semenyo joins Manchester City for £64m. We analyse why Pep Guardiola chose the Bournemouth star to boost City's title charge.
Antoine Semenyo is about to move from Bournemouth to Manchester City. They've agreed on a deal that skips his release clause.
The 26-year-old scored the winning goal against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday. Now, he's headed north for medical tests before joining the English champions. He'll be on a contract until June 2031.
The city will pay £62.5 million, with another £1.5 million in bonuses. If City sells him later, Bournemouth gets 10% of the profit.
This deal works out better for the city because they can pay over two years instead of all at once. Bournemouth gets more than they would have from Semenyo's release clause, which was about £65 million but would have left them with only £60 million after commitments, VAT, and a Premier League fee.
This sale beats Bournemouth's previous record when Dominic Solanke went to Spurs for £55 million plus bonuses in 2024 and even surpasses the offers for Semenyo last summer.
Even though he had chances to leave before, the Ghana international extended his contract but included an exit clause.
That meant Bournemouth couldn't really stop Semenyo's sale this time. Still, they see his 21 appearances, 10 goals, and three assists as a big help to their season.
Bournemouth convinced City to let Semenyo play in a few extra games, where they gained four important points. This shows Bournemouth's skill in negotiating, even with big clubs.
It also shows they're good at finding, developing, and selling players. Semenyo is the latest to leave for much more than they paid. He follows Illia Zabarnyi (Paris Saint-Germain), Milos Kerkez (Liverpool), and Dean Huijsen (Real Madrid) to Champions League teams.
Why were so many Premier League teams after Semenyo?
Semenyo is dangerous on the fast break. He's fast and strong, can use either foot, and hits the ball well.
He uses these skills well at Bournemouth, driving their quick attacks that Andoni Iraola's team is now known for. He scored a great goal on the opening day at Anfield and made a great run and cross for Eli Junior Kroupi against Crystal Palace.
Liverpool's interest makes sense. Since Arne Slot took over last summer, they've created the most chances from fast breaks. They've also missed a winger with his skill since Luis Diaz left for Bayern Munich.
Manchester United also likes to attack quickly and could have used Semenyo's speed on the wings.
But Semenyo offers more than just speed. He's one of the most two-footed wingers around. With his size and quickness, he's a threat against any defence. Since last season started, only Erling Haaland has taken more non-penalty shots, and he scores from everywhere, beating his expected goals because he shoots so well.
Semenyo is excited when he has space, but he can also help break down tough defences.
Why did City want him so badly?
Pep Guardiola always wants wingers who can beat defenders one-on-one and score a lot of goals.
Even though Jeremy Doku is improving, Guardiola said after the 3-0 win against Liverpool that the Belgian winger probably won't be one of City's top scorers.
Guardiola also said that Savinho might be out for two months with an injury, and Oscar Bobb isn't quite a finisher yet. City hasn't really replaced Riyad Mahrez, or even Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling.
They depend a lot on Erling Haaland, and Semenyo will add a threat from either wing, improving City's counterattack.
City has become a title contender. Adding Semenyo will be seen as a big move, bringing in a player who's in his prime and can win games.
PEP GUARDIOLA REFUSES TO GUARANTEE RODRI’S RETURN FOR MONDAY’S PREMIER LEAGUE CLASH
Pep Guardiola provides the latest injury news on Rodri, Ruben Dias, and Josko Gvardiol ahead of a crucial title race clash at Everton.
Pep Guardiola has shared the latest on Manchester City's injury situation ahead of Monday’s Premier League match against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
City is in good form right now. They came from behind to beat Southampton 2-1 in the FA Cup semi-final last weekend, making it six wins in a row across all competitions.
But they’ve had to do it without Rodri. He's missed their last two matches, including a tight 1-0 win at Burnley, after hurting his groin against Arsenal a couple of weeks back. Guardiola recently told reporters that Rodri is getting better, but the team’s been cautious and isn’t rushing him back.
At his latest press conference on Friday, Guardiola said Rodri still hasn’t returned to training, so they’re just taking it day by day. There's hope, but Guardiola wouldn’t give any guarantees about Rodri’s chances of playing against Everton. "He’s getting better. Still, he didn't train with us, so we’ll see in the next few days,” he said. When pressed about his confidence, Pep just replied, “I am always confident.”
With Rodri still not training, it sounds like a last-minute decision on whether he’ll play. A start against Everton seems unlikely. That probably means Nico González, who scored the winner against Southampton, will keep his spot in midfield next to Bernardo Silva. Maybe Nico O’Reilly slides into central midfield, too, if he isn’t covering at left-back.
It’s not all good news in defence either. Ruben Dias is still out with the ankle injury that’s kept him sidelined for the last six games, and Josko Gvardiol is recovering from the tibial fracture he picked up in January. Both are working their way back, and Guardiola says they’re improving, but there’s no sign of a return just yet.
Turning to the Everton game, City could head into it trailing Arsenal by six points if the Gunners beat Fulham on Saturday. With the title race this tight, City can’t afford to slip up.
Guardiola knows Monday will be tough. “Everton have always been tough,” he said. “Old Everton was so cool and so British, and I loved to go there, but in the new stadium, they are defending really well, and it has always been tough." He’s not taking recent Everton results lightly, adding, 'They're fighting for a place in Europe. We won with two or three actions here, but we were not good at that moment. We can’t have any result but win, win, win.”
Everton won’t be easy, especially away, but City can at least take confidence from their strong record of 17 league games unbeaten against the Toffees. They won the reverse fixture 2-0, with Haaland scoring both goals. Still, Guardiola isn’t expecting it to be straightforward.
MANCHESTER CITY’S REQUEST TO RESCHEDULE PIVOTAL PREMIER LEAGUE TIES BRUTALLY DENIED
The Premier League has rejected Man City’s plea to swap Palace and Bournemouth matches. See City's brutal end-of-season schedule.
Manchester City are on the hunt for another domestic treble just seven years after the last one. Pep Guardiola pulled it off in 2018/19 with wins in the Premier League, FA Cup, and Carabao Cup. Now he's got his sights set on doing it again.
City’s deep run in the cups has created a mess for their league schedule. Their home game against Crystal Palace, which was supposed to happen during the Carabao Cup final weekend on March 22, got bumped. Same thing with their trip to Bournemouth, originally set for the day after the FA Cup final.
There’s a hold-up with rescheduling Palace; the Eagles’ Conference League semi-final run means they’ve got barely any free midweek dates. The match was pencilled in for Wednesday, May 13, but things got complicated when City reached the FA Cup Final, and Bournemouth got postponed too. The city asked the Premier League if they could play Bournemouth on Tuesday, May 12, then face Palace a week later, to squeeze in an extra recovery day before the Wembley showdown. Plus, that would give them the bonus of finishing their last two league games at home. But the Premier League usually insists that the fixture that was originally scheduled first in this case, Palace, gets played first.
According to The Mirror, City’s request was shot down. So now Guardiola’s team has to cram their last four matches into just 12 days: Palace visits on May 13, then the FA Cup Final, Bournemouth away on May 19, and finally wrapping things up at home to Aston Villa on May 24.
They couldn't play Bournemouth on May 20 because that’s the Europa League final night, and UEFA didn’t want any Premier League games stealing the spotlight when Aston Villa or Nottingham Forest could be involved.
The Mirror says the revised fixture dates and kick-off times are coming out today. Chelsea, also FA Cup finalists, will play their rescheduled match against Tottenham on May 19.
City still has to travel to Everton next Monday and host Brentford on Saturday, May 9. Then comes their jam-packed finish, starting with Palace.
Meanwhile, title rivals Arsenal will be hoping City’s crowded schedule works in their favour. Though Arsenal has its own challenge, a Champions League semi-final against Atletico Madrid is spread across the next two midweeks.
Arsenal closes out its league campaign with home games against Fulham and Burnley and trips to West Ham and Palace.
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