Bournemouth ‘agree terms’ with World Cup striker but Bristol City reject two bids

Bristol City have reportedly rejected two offers from AFC Bournemouth for striker Antoine Semenyo in what has been a manic day in the race for his signature. Semenyo is in-demand in the January transfer window and now the Robins have to contend with immense interest in one of their prized assets.

Semenyo’s appearances for Ghana at the World Cup has put him in the shop window and numerous Premier League clubs are said to hold an interest in him, as well as Turkish giants Fenerbahceand Championship rivals Burnley. Southampton were the latest club to have been linkedwith a transfer swoop for him, but Bournemouth wanted to steal a march on him.

BristolLive reported on early Thursday afternoon that an £8m bid had been rejected for the forward. It was described as ‘considerably’ short of the clubs’ valuation of the 22-year-old who has rediscovered his goalscoring touch. Semenyo has three goals in his last four matches and performed well in the 2-1 win over Swansea City in the FA Cup on Tuesday evening.

In another bit of news howevever, The Athletic have made a claim that the Ghana international has already agreed personal terms with the Cherries. They also claim that a new bid of £10m was submitted with journalist Ahmed Shooble saying that both parties are keen on a swift agreement. The latest development however comes from Sky Sports reporter Mark McAdam, who claims that bid has now been rejected and that the Dorset club are now moving on to other targets.

Semenyo’s contract was due to expire this summer but the club activated a one-year extension which will keep him at Ashton Gate until the summer of 2024. He has become an important figure to Bristol City over the last two years and was the second most creative player last year with 21 goal contributions in 2022. Semenyo has seven goals and three assists in 26 matches this season.

As for City, they have a home match against Blackburn Rovers this weekend with first-team manager Nigel Pearson addressing the media in his pre-match press conference on Friday. Earlier in the week, owner Steve Lansdown revealed that a new contract had been offered to Alex Scott, despite the 19-year-old being contracted until the summer of 2025.

Departing CEO Richard Gould also admitted last week that bids had come in for five first-team players in the early part of the transfer window but that none had met their valuation.