Manchester City and Bournemouth have reached an agreement in principle over the transfer of Antoine Semenyo, talkSPORT reports.
Semenyo has already verbally agreed personal terms with City having favoured a move there over other Premier League sides. What looks to be his final outing as a Cherries player came during to feature their 2-2 draw at Chelsea on Tuesday night.
The Blues were keen on a move, but pulled out of the running for Semenyo, who is now on the cusp of sealing his switch to the Etihad Stadium. Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur were also linked with the Ghana international.
Semenyo will be a statement signing for City in their push for the Premier League title.
Bournemouth host Pep Guardiola’s side on the penultimate weekend of the campaign, by which time they could be champions.
Semenyo’s season so far
After netting 13 goals and assisting seven others in all competitions last season, Semenyo made a great start to the current campaign.
He scored two goals during the opening match against Liverpool, although Bournemouth lost 4-2 at Anfield.
Semenyo later found the target against Brighton, Leeds United and Fulham before a run of seven matches without scoring.
However, he has scored three goals in his last three matches against Manchester United, Burnley and Brentford.
His season tally of nine puts him third in the Premier League Golden Boot race behind Erling Haaland and Igor Thiago.
Bournemouth will reach the halfway point of the season in their trip to Chelsea on Tuesday night.
It presents them with an opportunity to improve on their current position of 15th, but a win couldn’t send them into the top half.
Semenyo scored and assisted in their visit to Stamford Bridge last season, which ended 2-2 following a late equaliser from Reece James.
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola cut a defiant figure when asked about Semenyo’s future after the draw at Chelsea, insisting it wouldn’t be the player’s final appearance for the club.
After being asked about Semenyo waving goodbye to the travelling Bournemouth fans and appearing to say farewell to his teammates, Iraola said: “I don’t know what is going to happen but he will definitely play [vs Arsenal]. This is not his last game.
“He needs to recover because we play Arsenal at home in another three days, against top of the league, he will be an important player for us, yes.”
Semenyo could in theory still feature in Bournemouth’s clash at home to Arsenal on Saturday, although the transfer could be wrapped up by then.
