Southampton ‘keen’ on Bristol City forward but Aston Villa star also ‘on radar’

It has been a quiet two weeks at Ashton Gate on the transfer front with the Robins yet to bring in any new recruits during the January window.

Nigel Pearson’s side, who are preparing for their next EFL Championship fixture against Blackburn Rovers, have seen Sam Pearson head out on loan to League Two AFC Wimbledon while Ryley Towler has joined League One side Portsmouth. Meanwhile, the future of one of their star players continues to hang in the balance with the possibility of a move away from City still up in the air.

Antoine Semenyo has been linked with clubs in the Premier League, Championship and Scottish Premiership in the past few weeks and later reports have another top flight club linked with the 23-year old. According to a report from The Athletic, the striker is one of three attacking targets for Southampton before the window closes.

The Saints currently sit bottom of the Premier League table but are level on points with 19th place Everton and 18th place West Ham and just one point off of Bournemouth in 17th. In fact, just one win in their next fixture could see them climb as high as 14th place and former Luton Town boss Nathan Jones has also led them to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.

The report credits the St Mary’s side with an interest in Semenyo but he is said to be just one striker the club are considering as an option to boost their attack. The other players being linked with the South Coast club are Aston Villa’s Danny Ings and Villarreal’s Nicolas Jackson. At the time of publication, it is understood that no official bid has been made by Southampton, or any other side, for Semenyo.

The forward has 18 months remaining on his current City deal and has scored eight goals in 31 appearances across all competitions for the club this season. The youth academy graduate first appeared for the Robins in the 2017/18 season and has made over 100 appearances for the first team. He has also spent time out on loan at Bath City, Newport County and Sunderland.