'A balance to be found' - journalist on when Semenyo should leave

1 week ago 2

Antoine Semenyo could be a Manchester City player as early as the weekend, according to Bournemouth Echo senior journalist Alexander Smith.

City have agreed to meet Semenyo's £65m release clause and talks between the clubs have been progressing this week with the transfer window opening on 1 January.

Before the Chelsea match on Tuesday, Smith told BBC Radio Manchester: "I think if the club get their negotiations right, he might be around for the weekend [against Arsenal] but to be honest I'm not optimistic of that. I think this is his last appearance in a Cherries shirt."

After the draw at Stamford Bridge however, manager Andoni Iraola said that it was "definitely not" the winger's last game.

"I think Antoine seems quite keen to get it sorted early which I guess is understandable, " Smith said. "In some ways, it suits Bournemouth to get the money in so they can look at replacements nice and early to hopefully get players through the door as soon as possible.

"But obviously there's a balance to be found between bringing in and letting him go early or keeping him for another couple of games where he might score a couple of goals and win them a point or two.

"If he was looking for purely game time, Man Utd were probably the best possible option but if he's looking at trophies, City would be the move. I also thought Liverpool was a sensible move as they start looking at succession planning for Mohamed Salah but it seems that he's settled on City."

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