Cliff Notes – Transfer rumors, news: City, Liverpool, Spurs eye Semenyo release clause
- AFC Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo has attracted interest from Manchester City, Liverpool, and Tottenham Hotspur due to a £60 million release clause, which becomes active in January.
- Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is monitoring FC Cologne winger Said El Mala, with scouts attending his recent matches amid interest from Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
Transfer rumors, news: City, Liverpool, Spurs eye Semenyo release clause
AFC Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo has a release clause that has Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur interested, while Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been impressed by FC Cologne winger Said El Mala. Join us for the latest transfer news and rumors from around the globe.
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Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo is the subject of a lot of interest. (Photo by Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)TRENDING RUMORS
– Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur all hold an interest in signing AFC Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo, reports Sky Sports. The 25-year-old’s contract reportedly includes a release clause worth £60 million plus £5 million in add-ons that becomes active in January, but it is only active until a certain point in the window and the clause will drop lower in the summer. Semenyo signed a five-year contract recently, but would not have done so without the release clause as he has plans to make a step up. He will also be available throughout the winter as Ghana did not qualify for the African Cup of Nations.
– Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been impressed by FC Cologne winger Said El Mala and is having him closely watched, as reported by Sky Sports Deutschland, which adds that scouts have been at the 19-year-old’s recent matches. Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund are also interested but a deal could be difficult for the Bundesliga clubs to complete as Cologne have extended El Mala’s contract until 2030 and are demanding a fee of €40 million. Talks between El Mala’s representatives and Cologne are planned for the winter and he is in no rush to leave.
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– Nottingham Forest value the transfer of midfielder Elliot Anderson at over £100 million amid interest from Manchester United and Newcastle United, as has been reported by The Telegraph. There is no chance of a January departure though, with Forest ready to take a tough stance regarding the 23-year-old’s future, while ESPN sources have stated that the Red Devils have no plans to add to their midfield in the January window anyway.
– There have been plenty of players linked with Bayern Munich ahead of the January transfer window. Florian Plettenberg has stated that their candidates are Feyenoord right-back Givairo Read, Anderlecht midfielder Nathan De Cat, Crystal Palace center back Marc Guéhi, Borussia Dortmund center back Nico Schlotterbeck, FC Cologne winger Said El Mala and Hoffenheim striker Fisnik Asllani. There is also information from Bild’s Christian Falk, who report that the Bavarians are monitoring Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic’s situation and hold an interest in Midtjylland striker Franculino Djú.
– Borussia Dortmund forward Karim Adeyemi’s agent, Jorge Mendes, has held talks with a number of clubs including Manchester United as negotiations over a new contract for his client stall, says Sky Sports Deutschland. The report claims that suggestions the 23-year-old has decided to leave are untrue, and more talks with Dortmund are planned for after the international break. Right now though, Adeyemi’s future remains completely open. His contract runs until 2027 and has a base salary of €475,000-a-month, while Mendes is demanding more than the €600,000-a-month being offered for an extension and also wants to add a release clause.
EXPERT TAKE
ESPN’s Sam Tighe on the future for Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo.
When Semenyo signed his new deal with Bournemouth last summer, it always felt like a “I’ll give you one more year” arrangement. Rewarding the player with a pay rise but also rubber-stamping an exit route and acceptable release clause has become a common arrangement in football.
The Ghana international forward has started the season superbly, registering six goals and three assists from 11 league games. Only Erling Haaland (15) can beat that, highlighting how impactful and decisive he has become. His direct and aggressive dribbling scares full backs, as he drives right at them and forces them to move their feet. And, over the last three seasons, he’s got better at ensuring he hits dangerous shots or crosses at the end of those moves.
Add this to the fact he’s a willing presser and hard worker — you cannot thrive under Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola without these traits — and it’s no wonder a host of top clubs are eyeing him up. A fee of £60m plus £5m in add-ons would be a fair given the fees that similarly aged Premier League forwards — such as Mohammed Kudus (£55m), Matheus Cunha (£62.5m) and Bryan Mbeumo (£71m) — moved for last summer.
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– Inter Milan and AC Milan are both interested in Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier, whose contract ends in the summer. (Tuttosport)
– Atletico Madrid midfielder Conor Gallagher has been linked with Manchester United, but says he is “very happy” at the club. (AS)
– Galatasaray remain interested in Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman but there is no agreement for the 28-year-old to join them. (Fabrizio Romano)
– Tottenham Hotspur watched AS Monaco winger Maghnes Akliouche during France’s win over Azerbaijan. (Football Insider)
– Ethan Nwaneri could leave Arsenal on loan in January to get the attacking midfielder more game time. (Daily Mail)
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– Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, West Ham United, Crystal Palace and Borussia Dortmund have all looked at Club Brugge winger Christos Tzolis. (TEAMtalk)
– Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch is getting closer to renewing his contract until 2030 or 2031, having turned down a large offer from Saudi Arabia last summer. (Nicolo Schira)
– Bayer Leverkusen are considering triggering the clause to re-sign FC Salzburg winger Kerim Alajbegovic, which will be worth €8m in the summer of 2026. (Florian Plettenberg)
– Internazionale are searching for a backup option for right back Denzel Dumfries. (Nicolo Schira)
– AZ Alkmaar striker Troy Parrott’s heroics for the Republic of Ireland could earn him a return to the Premier League (Times)
– Parma are aiming to sign a free-agent goalkeeper due to an injury to Zion Suzuki, with their list of options featuring Rui Patricio, Fraser Forster, Dimitry Bertaud, Vicente Guaita, Salvatore Sirigu, Luigi Sepe, Andrea Consigli, Alessio Cragno and Vito Mannone. (Calciomercato)
– Sarajevo center back Hamza Redzic has received interest from Serie A after impressing in Bosnia & Herzegovina U19s’ match against Italy. (Rudy Galetti)