Man Utd Bite Finger, Man City Rival Club Gaet Antoine Semenyo

JAKARTA - Manchester United again failed to get the player who was the target, Antoine Semenyo. Rival one city, Manchester City, who managed to get the Bournemouth winger.

Man Utd has long been eyeing Semenyo. Only plans to bring in the London-born player, England, but choosing to defend the Ghana national team this has not been achieved.

Especially after Man Utd brought in a row of forward players, Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko. If Cunha and Mbeumo are recruits who managed to raise Man Utd's performance, on the other hand, Sesko has not yet shown the maximum performance. More disappointing, Man Utd let Semenyo go to get Sesko.

Now Semenyo has crossed over to rival club Man City, even though this 25-year-old winger was once a target for Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea.

However, Man City showed seriousness in recruiting Semenyo. Even the club that has made history by winning the English Premier League four times in a row is willing to pay a player release clause of 65 million pounds or around 1.4 trillion rupiah.

Despite being the target of elite clubs, Semenyo's departure was still beyond expectations. The reason is, Bournemouth is trying not to lose the mainstay player.

Moreover, he had just signed a five-year contract which made him stay at Bournemouth until 2030. Semenyo himself also expressed his desire to defend the Cherries.

"I grew up in and out of this club. I'm happy to sign a new contract when I return from pre-season. From fans, staff and teammates, Bournemouth is an amazing club. I'm happy to be back here and continue to work hard in the new season," said Semenyo when signing a new long-term contract.

The contract shows that Bournemouth really wants to keep the player. Even the club's president of football operations Tiago Pinto stated that Semenyo is a key player in Bournemouth's project.

Not only that, manager Andoni Iraola hopes that the real players who can strengthen this French national team will remain at Bournemouth. Semenyo's presence makes the team's game better.

"The more often Antoine is played, the better. Antoine is our big player. And I don't want to lose him," Iraola said.

Only, Iraola's desire did not come true. After losing the mainstay defender Dean Huijsen who was brought home by Real Madrid to Spain, now Bournemouth has to lose Semenyo.

According to Sky Sports, Semenyo has reached a personal agreement with Man City. Furthermore, The Cityzens also agreed to redeem the player's release clause which will be settled on the first day of the winter transfer window.

This makes the player's move completely free of obstacles.

Semenyo will play his last match with Bournemouth when facing host Chelsea on Wednesday, December 31, 2025 WIB.

Interestingly, if the transfer process goes smoothly, he will meet Chelsea again in early January 2026. Only, Semenyo has already worn the sky blue jersey with new manager Pep Guardiola in that match.