ANTOINE SEMENYO’S £65M RELEASE CLAUSE SECRET—WHY IT ONLY LASTS 10 DAYS IN JANUARY
Bristol City expect an £11m windfall as Antoine Semenyo's £65m release clause expires just 10 days into January.
Bristol City could get a sweet £11 million payout early in January because of Antoine Semenyo's Bournemouth deal.
Semenyo's new contract this summer included a £65 million release clause, but here's the catch: talkSPORT's Ben Jacobs and Alex Crook say it's only good for the first 10 days of January. Jacobs thinks Semenyo's leaving this winter looks likely.
If he moves in early January, Bristol City gets a big chunk of change and plenty of time to reinvest in their team.
More on Semenyo's contract and what it means for Bristol City:
Back in November, the £65 million release clause was revealed. Semenyo had a killer start to the 2025/26 season, helping Bournemouth win five of their first nine games with six goals and three assists.
But when the release clause details came out, Bournemouth and Semenyo were struggling, and advisors didn't think a January move was probable.
If someone wants him, they need to act fast. Ben Jacobs says that the £65 million clause is only valid for the first 10 days of January. After that, Bournemouth can refuse offers and keep him until the summer.
The idea is to allow Bournemouth to find a replacement, but it also helps Bristol City. They're set to receive £11 million because of the 20% sell-on clause they negotiated almost two years ago.
That eight-figure sum will be huge for the Robins, both on and off the field.
£11 million is coming at the perfect time for Bristol City.
Not only is the sell-on fee more than most of their record player sales, but they'll also get the cash in time to spend it in January.
Plus, all the injuries they've had in the first half of the season mean they seriously need more players.
They've already signed Sam Morsy, a free agent with promotion experience. This shows that Bristol City wants to improve and make a playoff push.
Even with a depleted squad, Gerhard Struber has kept the Robins competitive. They're heading into Christmas just two points out of the playoffs and nine points from the top two.
A great winter transfer window, boosted by that £11 million, could help them secure a spot in the top six or maybe even challenge for automatic promotion in May.
VAR REVIEW: CHELSEA 2-2 BOURNEMOUTH, ESTêVãO PENALTY DRAMA EXPLAINED! WAS IT A FOUL OR A DIVE
Explaining the VAR: How an 11th-minute penalty check at Stamford Bridge saved a point for Chelsea against a resilient Bournemouth.
Every week, the Video Assistant Referee stirs up drama in the Premier League. Let's break down how these calls are made and if they're actually right.
This season, we're digging into the big moments to explain the VAR process and the rules of the game.
What went down: Chelsea's Estêvão was moving into the Bournemouth box, with Antoine Semenyo on his tail. Estêvão went down after some contact with Semenyo. The ref, Barrott, waved off Chelsea's penalty shouts, saying there wasn't a foul. He thought both players made contact naturally as they were running, and Estêvão basically tripped himself.
VAR said, "After looking at it, VAR Pawson suggested Barrott take another look at the monitor for a possible penalty because Semenyo might have tripped Estêvão."
VAR's take: Pawson had to figure out if the contact was just part of the play, like the ref thought, or if Semenyo fouled Estêvão. It was clear Estêvão tripped, but the question was how the contact started.
At first glance, it would be hard for Pawson to disagree with the ref because the main TV angle wasn't clear. But after checking out the sideline and behind views, Pawson saw that Semenyo stepped into Estêvão's path, making enough contact with his leg to cause him to trip.
Pawson told Barrott to check the monitor for a possible penalty. Barrott watched the replays, agreed, and gave Chelsea the penalty.
The call: It was a reasonable VAR call based on today's standards. But it's a borderline case.
Barrott seemed unsure of the monitor and needed some convincing from different angles.
A lot of the time, this kind of contact is just from players running normally, and someone goes down. To give a penalty, there really needs to be a clear foul by the defender. You could say that happened here, but it's a pretty low standard for VAR to get involved.
Chelsea 2-2 AFC Bournemouth
Referee: Sam Barrott
VAR: Craig Pawson
What: VAR check for a foul in the box
When: 11th minute
BREAKING: UNAI EMERY REVEALS THE REAL REASON BEHIND HIS COLD ARTETA HANDSHAKE SNUB NOW
Unai Emery explains why he skipped the post-match handshake as Arsenal’s 4-1 win ends Aston Villa’s 11-game streak at the Emirates.
Unai Emery said he didn't shake Mikel Arteta's hand right after Aston Villa lost at the Emirates Stadium since the Arsenal manager kept him waiting.
This loss stopped Villa's winning streak at 11 games, their first in almost two months.
Villa held their own in the first half, but Arsenal scored early in the second when Gabriel got to the ball before Emi Martinez on a corner.
Martin Zubimendi quickly made it 2-0, and Leandro Trossard scored a third goal a little after an hour had passed.
Soon after entering the pitch, Gabriel Jesus scored, making it 4-0. Ollie Watkins was able to respond by tapping in a goal late in the game after Donyell Malen's nice play.
After the game, Emery waited to shake Arteta's hand, but he went to the locker room since Arteta was still celebrating with his team.
It’s easy to see. I like to do things fast,” Emery said when asked about why he didn’t shake Arteta’s hand.
“I shake hands, then I go to the dressing room with my players and coaches. I was waiting.
“Arteta was busy with his coaches, so I went inside. It’s not a big deal for me.”
About the match, Emery commented, “We played great in the first half, and things were going our way. We had corners and defended well. We didn’t let them get a corner in the first half.
“We felt good, but we let in the first goal in the second half. Onana getting hurt didn’t help since he’s important for set pieces and in the midfield.
“We didn’t quit, and we kept playing hard. We scored one goal and almost scored more. Arsenal is the best team in the league and should win the title.
“I’m not sure which day it is since we’ve played Arsenal twice already, and we still have to play Nottingham. But I’m happy with our goals and how we're trying to attain them.