According to Duncan Castles, a journalist for the Sunday Times, Manchester United were prepared to offer Bournemouth £55 million for winger Antoine Semenyo, after they reached an agreement on personal terms during the summer transfer window.
Ruben Amorim, the head coach of the Red Devils, also engaged in a supper with the 25-year-old Ghanaian international.
Nevertheless, Semenyo refrained from pursuing a transfer after learning that he would be earning significantly less than Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo at Manchester United.
Bournemouth has since granted him an extension of his contract, and he has initiated the new Premier League season in impressive fashion.
In the most recent episode of The Transfers Podcast, Castles stated, “United, I am informed, stated that they would spend no more than £55m on the player during those discussions.”
“They reached a personal agreement with Semenyo prior to attempting to negotiate a fee with Bournemouth.” At the conclusion of the season, they even arranged for Ruben Amorim to accompany him to London for a supper in order to assess his character. Once more, the procedure is comparable to that of Cunha and Mbeumo.
Then, according to my source, Semenyo learnt that the remuneration he had agreed to with Manchester United was less than 70% of the amount they were willing to pay Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo.
“And Bournemouth strategically employed this to persuade the player to sign a new contract until 2030, with the expectation that he will remain at the club for at least one additional season before transferring to another team.”
The Cherries’ hero has two goals and one assist in three Premier League appearances in 2025-26, following a season in which he scored 11 goals and registered six assists in 37 league games.
Amorim would be satisfied with the way he strengthened his attacking ranks, as Cunha and Mbeumo are beginning to establish themselves at Man United.
Nevertheless, the addition of Semenyo to his team would have been significant, and the acquiring of such a talented winger for £55m would have been an absolute bargain.
It is uncertain whether Manchester United will be amenable to his return with enhanced personal terms, as he may be placed back on the market next summer.
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