Former Liverpool man Jermaine Pennant thinks it’s “really stupid” that the Reds haven’t put themselves in the position to sign Antoine Semenyo.

Semenyois one of the hottest commodities in the Premier League at the moment. The Bournemouth forward has eight goals and three assists this term, with only two men outscoring him.

His form this season put him on the radar of the majority of the Premier League’s biggest clubs, though it’s Manchester City who look to be the side who are going to land him.

It was revealed just before Christmas that they were progressing well towards his signing, despite reported interest from Manchester United and Liverpool.

A report on December 29 suggested Bournemouth expect the exit of their talisman to City to be completed within the next 48 hours, meaning that’s now likely to be within the next day.

Former Liverpool man Pennant has displayed his disappointment that his former side didn’t make more of a fist of signing Semenyo for themselves.

He told talkSPORT: “As a Liverpool fan, I’m really disappointed on the back of [Alexander] Isak getting injured, maybe out for the season.

“[Mohamed] Salah being in AFCON and we already know the relationship with him, is he going to be leaving?

“So, for ￡65million in this day and age, a player of Antoine Semenyo’s quality, you’d say it’s kind of a bargain.

“And for them to not be in the conversation or say, ‘We’re interested as well’, and approach Bournemouth on the back of what I’ve mentioned, is really stupid.

“He could be a player that could replace Salah long term as well. So when Salah does decide to leave, if it’s in January or at the end of the season, you’ve got someone who is Premier League proven, which is absolutely vital.

“We’ve seen players come over to this league and they can’t really cut it, but you know that he can.”

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Indeed, Salah’s situation is up in the air, and if he does survive the season, he’s only got one year at Liverpool left. The Reds are seemingly already prepared to move on from him, having not started him in any of their last four league games.

Upsetting the icon does not seem to factor into their thinking, so even if he had to watch Semenyo from the bench prior ti an exit in a year’s time, they’d have had a star winger in place.

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