Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson has disclosed that the club will be ready to sell Ghanaian forward Antoine Semenyo to any Premier League club in the summer.
City would want to keep the Ghanaian forward who has been their best player this season in the Championship.
The 22-year-old has been watched by scouts from some Premier League clubs with reports of a transfer on the cards in the summer.
West Ham, Crystal Palace, Southampton, Brighton & Hove Albion, plus newly-promoted Bournemouth and Fulham have been reported to be interested in signing the forward.
Nottingham Forest made a move for the attacker in January but were not able to meet the asking price.
Nigel Pearson states the club will not stand in the way of Antoine Semenyo from joining any club if his £20m price tag is met.
“I don’t spend too much time worrying about that. I think we will, in time, have decisions to make on him but hopefully he’ll be here this year,” Pearson told BBC Radio Bristol.
“Would I stand in his way of going to top a Premier League side? Absolutely not. But it would have to be the right deal for us, as a team. As a football club, the financial offset for losing someone like Antoine is going to be considerable and people need to be aware of that.
“We don’t want to be a selling club, we want to keep our best player, of course we do, but the reality of where we are is there are times when that stance will be stretched and it will be questioned, and what we have to do is make the right decision for us as a football club.
Pearson is confident City can qualify for the Premier League with Antoine Semenyo.
“We’ll have a better chance of succeeding next year if Antoine is here.“But if he goes somewhere he’s going to be expensive for somebody.”
“Let’s be honest about this, the reason he’s developed as quickly as he has: he’s a listener, he’s very self-aware, he wants to play at the top end, he has aspirations to play in the Premier League and international football,” Pearson added.
“He studies his own game. He is a player who doesn’t waste time and energy when he’s out injured. He’s very interested in making adjustments to his game, he’s receptive.
