AFC Bournemouth and Everton have reportedly joined Crystal Palace in the race to sign Bristol City star Antoine Semenyo, with the 22-year-old set to leave the Championship side this summer.
According to the Daily Mail, Premier League interest is growing rapidly in the EFL attacker, with Semenyo entering the final year of his contract and the forward drawing attention from the likes of Scott Parker’s Bournemouth and Everton, with Palace lining up a £12m offer for the Ghanian international.
A centre-forward by trade with the ability to play out wide, Semenyo was one of the Robins’ best players last season as the striker bagged eight goals and ten assists in the Championship, and Bristol City could now look to sell their star forward with a Premier League trio now looking to sign the youngster.
Whilst the Daily Mail state that Nigel Pearson’s side want £15m for Semenyo, the fact the attacker has just one year remaining on his contract gives the likes of Palace a lot of power in their pursuit to sign the 22-year-old this summer, with Patrick Vieira seemingly a big fan of the Chelsea-born star.
Palace have enjoyed a lot of success buying players from the Championship, with Eberiche Eze and Michael Olise two of the Eagles’ best signings in the past two years with the pair both coming from Queens Park Rangers and Reading respectively, and Semenyo could be the next star to make the move from the second-tier to Selhurst Park.
Indeed, whilst new interest from Bournemouth and Everton could cause some problems for Palace, the stories of Eze and Olise could be an alluring factor for Semenyo when deciding on who to sign for, with Vieira also a manager who has enjoyed a lot of success developing young prospects into top players.
Semenyo must sign for Palace despite Bournemouth and Everton interest
Labelled by Pearson as a player who is a ‘nightmare’ for opposing defenders, Semenyo’s impressive year with Bristol City last year seemingly indicates that the attacker is ready for a move to the Premier League, and for Palace, they need to ensure they are the ones who win the race to sign the Ghanian.
After all, Eze and Olise both joined Palace from the Championship and hit the ground running for the Eagles, and Vieira can repeat this success this summer with Semenyo, who could make a hat-trick of second-tier prospects who have become superstars in south London with the aspiring Premier League side.
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