Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola has moved to temper reports that Antoine Semenyo\u2019s switch to Manchester City is close to completion. The clubs have opened talks over the winger\u2019s \u00a365 million ($87.6 million) release clause, a provision valid only in the first 10 days of the January window, but Iraola stressed the situation is not settled.<\/p>\n
Semenyo started Tuesday\u2019s 2\u20132 draw with Chelsea, an appearance that surprised some given the advanced stage of discussions. The player applauded the travelling supporters, an action many treated as a possible farewell, yet Iraola insisted Semenyo will continue to feature for Bournemouth.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is a massive player for us and he will still be with us,\u201d he told BBC \u2019s Match of the Day. \u201cIt is not the last game he has played for us, definitely not.\u201d<\/p>\n
That stance frames a tricky opening to 2026 for the Cherries. Bournemouth face Arsenal on Jan. 3 and, according to BBC Sport, the club intends for Semenyo to be available for that game. Those in charge at the Vitality Stadium also want him to stay through the subsequent meeting with Tottenham Hotspur four days later.<\/p>\n
Depending on the clause\u2019s terms, City may need to agree to Bournemouth\u2019s request to retain Semenyo temporarily. Allowing him to face Arsenal would offer a clear boost to City\u2019s hopes of beating the Gunners to the Premier League title, while simultaneously exposing the transfer to the obvious risk of an injury that could jeopardise the move.<\/p>\n
Liverpool have been tipped to try a late approach for Semenyo, but they have not yet made formal contact with Bournemouth. To date, Bournemouth\u2019s discussions over the winger have been solely with City.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Iraola says Semenyo is not leaving Bournemouth yet as City talks continue over \u00a365m release clause Jan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5559,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[739,1163],"tags":[983,801,1032],"class_list":["post-5560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bournemouth","category-transfers","tag-agents","tag-antoine-semenyo","tag-contract-disputes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}