Romano reveals that Man Utd face ‘fight’ for Bournemouth star as Cherries ‘won’t sell 3-4 players’
Bournemouth’s key players are in demand with the likes of Manchester United targeting the stars behind the Cherries’ remarkable Premier League season.
Man Utd are believed to be especially keen on Antoine Semenyo, the 25-year-old former Sunderland and Bristol City winger who scored Bournemouth’s third goal in a win at Old Trafford in December.
Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur are also interested in acquiring Semenyo, who moved to the Vitality Stadium in 2023, but transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reports that they face a fight for the Londoner’s signature.
Writing via his GIVEMESPORT transfer newsletter, Romano said: “Many Bournemouth players are attracting interest, but I don’t think they will sell 3-4 players.
“Semenyo has chances to go as interest is there, but it’s not something guaranteed now, as the club will try to fight to keep him.”
Bournemouth fans are enjoying the chance to watch their best ever team. Andoni Iraola has lifted them to eighth in the Premier League and the Cherries have scalped some of the best teams in the division.
Semenyo has featured in wins over Man Utd, Man City, Arsenal, Newcastle, Spurs and Nottingham Forest this season, and Bournemouth have won widespread acclaim for their confident and aggressive attacking outlook.
The Red Devils target has scored seven Premier League goals and made four, and is among the league’s quickest and most effective ball carriers.
Only Jeremy Doku, Mohammed Kudus and Iliman Ndiaye have produced more successful take-ons than Semenyo, whose incisive running and ability to receive and use the ball in attacking areas have drawn admiring glances from around the Premier League.
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Man Utd’s decision to let home-grown forward Marcus Rashford leave for Aston Villa on loan in the January transfer window left Ruben Amorim needing to recruit and Semenyo’s suitability to play off a striker in Amorim’s system makes him an attractive prospect.
The Red Devils started with Alejandro Garnacho and Christian Eriksen off Joshua Zirkzee in Sunday’s draw with Arsenal. Eriksen, at 33, is not a long-term option. Garnacho’s PSR profit potency might put him in the shop window.
With European football still a distinct possibility, Bournemouth might be in a position to put up the kind of fight anticipated by Romano for the first time in their history.
Turning Man Utd away at the door would be a significant show of strength and a huge endorsement of what Iraola has achieved with the Dorset club.
Bournemouth will have to field bids for many more of their players in the summer and the extent to which they’re able to keep their squad intact will go a long way to defining their prospects in 2025-26.
