Revealed: How much Antoine Semenyo could really cost Man City as new details emerge
Manchester City made Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo their priority target for the January transfer window.
The interest came about after it emerged Semenyo has a £65million release clause in his Bournemouth contract that can be activated before Saturday (10 January).
Liverpool have also been pushing to sign Semenyo, but he made it clear his preference is to join Pep Guardiola’s side.
The Ghana international scored the winning goal for Bournemouth in their 3-2 victory over Tottenham on Wednesday (7 January).
Despite that, it now appears a move to Man City is all but confirmed.
What transfer fee will Man City pay to sign Antoine Semenyo?
There has been speculation Liverpool could still be in with a chance of signing Semenyo while talks continued between Man City and Bournemouth.
However, The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported on Thursday (8 January) Guardiola’s side are set to complete the deal outside of the release clause.
Ornstein revealed the transfer is worth an initial £62.5m, with £1.5m in add-ons and Bournemouth to receive 10 per cent profit of any future sale.
It is understood Man City will pay the fee across 24 months rather than immediately.
Semenyo will sign a five-and-a-half-year deal until June 2031, with a medical to take place on Thursday.
It means the winger, who turned 26 on Wednesday, could be in line to make his debut in the third-round FA Cup tie against Exeter City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
How much will Semenyo earn at Man City?
Semenyo will also receive a substantial salary once he completes his move to the 10-time English champions.
Man City have paid the highest wages in the Premier League over the past few years, with their total standing at £408.4m last season.
Finance expert Stefan Borson told Football Insider Semenyo will earn around £200,000 a week at Man City.
“I think the reality is I would expect him to be on £150k basic at this sort of time with City,” said Borson.
“I would think the average all in at City now is £200-225k, something like that. I think he’ll expect to be on £200k a week, £10m a year if he’s playing and City are achieving on the field.”
That means Man City have committed to pay Semenyo around £57m in wages until 2031, taking the total cost of the transfer to £121m, including the £64m fee owed to Bournemouth.
Semenyo has registered 10 goals and three assists in 21 appearances for Andoni Iraola’s side this season.
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