Andoni Iraola says Antoine Semenyo “will continue to be” a Bournemouth player amid mounting speculation over the player’s future ahead of the January transfer window.Â
The forward has been linked with moves to the Premier League‘s biggest clubs following a strong start to the campaign.
The 25-year-old has been in terrific form for the Cherries, scoring six goals and providing three assists to help the club make a push for Europe. They currently sit ninth in the Premier League table on 18 points, level with fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs are one of the clubs that showed interest in buying Semenyo from Bournemouth in the summer, before signing Mohammed Kudus.
Manchester United were another club that looked at the attacker before moving onto other targets, while Liverpool and Newcastle United also reportedly held interest in the player. Manchester City are said to be “monitoring” him.
Rather than push for an exit, Semenyo signed a contract extension until 2030. The deal reportedly includes a release clause of £65 million that can be activated in the winter window.
Iraola responds to Semenyo transfer speculation
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s clash with West Ham United, Iraola shut down any transfer talk and insisted he is not worried about January right now.
“We are in November, Antoine is our player, he will continue to be our player. In January, you can ask me about the market,” he said in his pre-match press conference.
“But right now, I am not worried about the next market. I am not worried about the situation. In January, we will talk about whatever happened, the players we need.”
Semenyo is a doubt to face the Hammers after aggravating an issue, while Bournemouth were dealt a double injury blow over the international break. Justin Kluivert injured his adductor muscle and Ben Gannon-Doak hurt his hamstring.
Read –Â Doubt cast on Man United moves for Semenyo and Guehi
“Antoine is different,” Iraola said. “Justin and Ben have muscle injuries and Antoine’s was not something new that happened when he was there.
“He was already dealing with an ankle injury. I cannot tell you if he’s going to play tomorrow or not. We will have to see.
“We have a couple of situations with the ones who have arrived late, we have to see if they are comfortable to help us tomorrow.”
Adam Smith and Tyler Adams have returned from concussion protocol, but neither play has trained much in the past couple of weeks.
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