Chelsea refused to pay extra £1m to sign Antoine Semenyo

Chelsea could have signed Antoine Semenyo in 2019 when the winger was valued at just £2million.

Semenyo attracted the attention of the west London club while he was on loan at Newport Country from parent club Bristol City.

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The then 19-year-old was flourishing with the Welsh outfit in League Two after making his debut for the Robins on the final day of the 2018/19 campaign.

A temporary switch to Newport ensued with Semenyo going on to score six times in 32 appearances.

Approach to sign

Chelsea were left impressed with Semenyo’s output and even went as far as tabling a £1m offer for the star.

The Blues saw Semenyo as a prospect for their under-23 squad with the potential to develop him into a senior player.

However, the move broke down as Chelsea were unable to match Bristol City’s valuation of £2m for their academy star.

It proved to be a masterstroke for the Championship side who went on to sell Semenyo to Bournemouth for £10m in January 2023.

He has since gone on to establish himself as one of the Premier League’s top performers and has attracted a host of suitors – including Chelsea – in the process.

The 25-year-old is the joint-third-highest scorer in the Premier League this season with eight goals in 16 games.

Semenyo state of play

Semenyo could well be on the move in January after it emerged that a release clause of between £60m and £65m can be triggered by January 10.

Manchester City are leading the race for his signature however talkSPORT understands that Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham are all interested in the winger.

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City have jumped ahead of their rivals having already held talks with the Ghanaian over a move next month and talkSPORT understands the player is leaning towards a move to the Etihad Stadium.

Both Chelsea and Liverpool would prefer to strike a deal in the summer should the winger stay at Bournemouth.

Meanwhile, Arsenal are only likely to entertain a deal in the event that one of their existing wide men depart the club in the January window.

As it stands, Manchester United are the most likely contenders to City’s hopes of landing Semenyo.

United boss Ruben Amorim is hoping to further bolster his attacking options as he continues his Old Trafford rebuild.

Bournemouth appear resigned to losing their star man, especially if one of his suitors activate his release clause.

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Speaking about the future of his player on Tuesday, Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola said: “Semenyo right now is with us. He trained today with us.

“I know that there is lots of noise around him. Not my concern, my concern is it doesn’t affect his performances. It is not doing, he is very committed to the team and I hope we can keep him here.

“It’s a situation we cannot control, but Antoine right now is our player. Going to continue playing for us. If you ask me, I don’t want to lose him, definitely don’t. But every time the market opens, you never know what is going to happen.

“Antoine, for me, has been performing very well. Not just the last two games where he has scored. He has consistently been very good since the beginning.

“Even when not scoring, he is still valuable for us. At the end, we don’t just demand numbers. It is no secret he is a massive player for us.”

Asked if he can understand why there is so much interest in Semenyo, Iraola added: “Yes, he is performing amazingly well.

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“But lots of wingers from other teams are performing amazingly well.

“In the league, nearly all teams have a difference maker. Especially offensively. I don’t know what is going to happen in the winter market.”