Premier League trio West Ham United, Crystal Palace and Southampton have scouted Bristol City’s £20 million forward Antoine Semenyo ‘extensively’ ahead of the summer transfer window, according to the Bristol Post.
Two years ago, Semenyo was struggling to make his mark on loan at Sunderland in England’s third-tier.
But, at the age of 22, the penny appears to have dropped, the Chelsea-born Ghanaian finally starting to live up to the potential that, not so long ago, appeared to be going unfulfilled.
One of the most improved players in the Championship, Semenyo’s exhilarating performances since the turn of the year have not gone unnoticed.
Wembley-bound play-off finalists Nottingham Forest failed with a bid in January. Semenyo’s agent, meanwhile, confirms that Celtic have come calling.
The Bristol Post, meanwhile, believe a whole host of top-flight clubs have scouted the powerhouse forward ‘extensively. West Ham, Crystal Palace, Southampton, Brighton and newly-promoted dup Bournemouth and Fulham are among them.
And Fulham’s interest will come as no surprise. Semenyo tore Marco Silva’s defence limb from limb a couple of months ago after all, finding the net with two outrageously accurate finishes in a thrilling game at Craven Cottage.
“Antoine has made great progress,” Robins boss Nigel Pearson said recently (Sky).
“He is a real threat with his power and pace. He must be a nightmare to play against! His challenge now is to keep developing and adding elements to his game to make him even more effective.”
Premier League clubs want Bristol City’s Antoine Semenyo
The Bristol Post believe that Semenyo’s rapidly-rising price-tag sits somewhere in the region of £20 million.
And former Leicester City and Derby County boss Pearson admits that he would not stand in the striker’s way if a top-flight club firms up their interest, though he is at pains to point out that Bristol City are not actively encouraging offers.
“Hopefully he’ll be here (next season),” Pearson tells the BBC.
“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.
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“We don’t want to be a selling club. We want to keep our best player, of course we do. 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.”
Semenyo produced a combined 20 goals and assists in 31 Championship games across 2021/22.
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