Manchester City are reportedly set to derail Liverpool\u2019s pursuit of Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo in a major January transfer twist. City are ready to activate the Ghanaian attacker\u2019s \u00a365 million release clause, a move that has taken Liverpool completely by surprise.<\/p>\n
Semenyo has been a priority target for Arne Slot since the summer, with Sporting Director Richard Hughes leading the chase. The 25-year-old has been in excellent form, recording six goals and three assists in the Premier League, and was viewed as the ideal cover for Mohamed Salah during AFCON.<\/p>\n
City\u2019s sudden interest has now forced Liverpool to urgently rethink their transfer plans. According to sources speaking to CaughtOffside, the club has already launched a backup strategy featuring several short- and long-term options to ensure they stay competitive in all competitions.<\/p>\n
Liverpool\u2019s alternative shortlist<\/p>\n
Kenan Y\u0131ld\u0131z (Juventus) \u2013 The highly rated 18-year-old is considered a long-term project. Having already broken a record once held by Alessandro Del Piero, he\u2019s seen as one of Serie A\u2019s top young prospects. Liverpool admire him greatly, but Juventus are unlikely to sanction a January sale.<\/p>\n
Rodrygo (Real Madrid) \u2013 Liverpool are monitoring Rodrygo\u2019s situation, with the Brazilian reportedly open to a Premier League move due to uncertainty over his starting role. Informal talks with his camp have taken place, but Real Madrid are not expected to approve any mid-season departure.<\/p>\n
Iliman Ndiaye (Everton) \u2013 Viewed as the closest stylistic match to Semenyo, Ndiaye could be a realistic short-term fix. His pace and creativity suit Slot\u2019s system, but negotiating with rivals Everton makes the move complicated, despite Liverpool\u2019s strong interest.<\/p>\n
Michael Olise (Bayern Munich) \u2013 The Bayern winger is Liverpool\u2019s dream long-term target, potentially as a future successor to Salah. His skillset fits perfectly, but Bayern are unlikely to consider any offers before summer 2026, making this more of a future ambition.<\/p>\n
Wider implications<\/p>\n
Liverpool\u2019s reaction to City\u2019s attempted hijack will shape their January window. Hughes and Slot remain in close contact with FSG as they seek funds for a major attacking signing to maintain their push for the Premier League title and Champions League progress.<\/p>\n
Should City secure Semenyo, it would intensify the off-field rivalry between the clubs, adding another layer to their ongoing battles in the transfer market.<\/p>\n
For now, Liverpool are prepared to act quickly\u2014whether that leads them to Y\u0131ld\u0131z, Rodrygo, Ndiaye, or Olise\u2014to ensure they have a strong attacking lineup when Salah departs for AFCON.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Manchester City are reportedly set to derail Liverpool\u2019s pursuit of Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo in a major January transfer twist. City are ready to activate the Ghanaian attacker\u2019s \u00a365 million release clause, a move that has taken Liverpool completely by surprise. Semenyo has been a priority target for Arne Slot since the summer, with Sporting …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":55885,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/COS-FeaturedHero-Image-Templates-2-1-768x462.jpg-1.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=55884"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55887,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55884\/revisions\/55887"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/55885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=55884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=55884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=55884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}