Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo may be a luxury signing, not a necessity, for Manchester United, but he can take them “to the next level”, says Bacary Sagna.

Reports emerged on Monday that Semenyo has a ￡65million release clause in his Bournemouth contract, sparking rumours of a departure in the January transfer window.

Manchester Unitedand Liverpool are among those being linked with the Ghanaian international, with the latter eyeing a long-term replacement for Mohamed Salah.

Antoine Semenyo for Bournemouth: The numbers

• 28 goals, 13 assists in 101 matches
• 26 goals, 12 assists in 92 Premier League matches
• More yellow cards (19) than assists (13)
• Cost ￡10m from Bristol City in January 2023

Liverpool are reportedly leading the race for Semenyo, with a January transfer not being ruled out.

Manchester United are among the clubs being linked with the Bournemouth star, and former Arsenal, Manchester City and France right-back Sagna thinks he could take Ruben Amorim’s team to another level.

“Looking forward, if he was to leave Bournemouth and stay in the Premier League, I think?Manchester United?would be a suitable option for him,” he told?Oddspedia.

“He could definitely help the club get back to the top end of the league and if he did join them, he’d be regarded as the player which made the difference and take United to the next level.

“He’s young, fresh and has proven he can shine in big games this season – so I think Old Trafford could be a good destination for him.”

Sagna added: “If I was Antoine Semenyo, I would stay at Bournemouth until the end of the season.

“As a player, moving clubs in the?January transfer window?can be disruptive; it’s much better to stay until the summer and then make a decision, and integrate into the team properly – rather than joining midway through a campaign.”

Man Utd must ignore Semenyo transfer temptation

Semenyois a fantastic player, but it’s probably worth seeing if Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha can continue to improve United before they spend big on another Premier League forward.

Amorim’s frontline was completely revamped in the summer transfer window with the signings of Cunha, Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko for over ￡200million.

Not only are those three players shiny new investments, but the Red Devils have bigger priorities in the transfer market, namely a new central midfielder.

Suppose United are convinced that recruiting from lesser Premier League clubs like Wolves, Brentford and Bournemouth is the way to go, they won’t look further than Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson, Brighton’s Carlos Baleba and Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton in their pursuit of a new midfielder.

Sure, Semenyo would improve the United squad, but Amorim also has Amad Diallo, Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount. Obviously, ￡65m should be invested elsewhere.

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Antoine Semenyo to Liverpool does make sense

While we aren’t convinced by the financial practicality of United signing Semenyo, we are convinced that Semenyo to Liverpoolisa transfer that makes perfect sense.

The Premier League champions also spent big on their attack in the summer, signing Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak for over ￡200m, while attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz joined for ￡100m.

However, there is an alarming lack of depth behind Mohamed Salahon the right, with right-back Jeremie Frimpong seemingly second in Arne Slot’s pecking order.

Not only is there no serious competition for Salah, but Liverpool need a long-term replacement for the 33-year-old.

No matter how you look at it, the odds are stacked in favour of Liverpool recruiting a serious downgrade on Salah, because he’s played at an all-time level for the Reds.

The best option is arguably Michael Olise, Bayern Munich’s world-class winger, but even he would be a downgrade on the Salah we saw last season. Unfortunately for Liverpool, they can’t replace the best Premier League winger of all time with someone capable of making the same impact.

So, Semenyo shouldn’t be viewed as an underwhelming replacement, and he probably isn’t, having scored six goals in 12 Premier League matches this term.

Despite record-breaking summer expenditure from Liverpool, they still have money to spend, and they’d be wise to invest their funds into the signing of Semenyo, but only if they sign a centre-back first, in what would likely be a ￡100m total investment, unlike Man United’s ￡165m spend on the Bournemouth man and a midfielder like Anderson or Baleba.

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