Premier League side Crystal Palace are reportedly considering a late January transfer swoop for Ghana international Antoine Semenyo from Bristol City.
The Robins looked to have overcome strong interest from both Bournemouth and Burnley by rejecting offers for him last week. The Cherries came in with an £8m offer before increasing that to £10m last Thursday, but their bid still fell short of City’s valuation for the 23-year-old believed to be in the ballpark of £15m.
Both clubs have seemingly moved on from Semenyo for the time being with Burnley closing in on the £7m signing of Lyle Foster from Belgian club Westerlo while Bournemouth have hijacked Southampton’s move for Senegalese forward Nicolas Jackson.
Now the Telegraph reported Wednesday that Patrick Vieira’s Palace are considering making an offer before the January transfer window deadline next Tuesday.
The Eagles are short of out-and-out strikers following Christian Benteke’s departure to DC United in the summer.
Palace have a longstanding interest in Semenyo that dates back to 2017 when they offered him an academy contract while he was at SGS College but he instead opted for the Robins. Sporting director Dougie Freedman has also monitored the striker’s progress for at least the last two years.
According to Bristol Live, Palace were preparing to make an offer in the summer but opted against it due to Semenyo’s shin injury.
Palace could be seen as a more attractive proposal for Semenyo who has not let ongoing transfer speculation prove a distraction. Unlike Bournemouth, relegation remains highly unlikely with the club seven points adrift of the drop zone while the prospect of living in London would also be an appeal.
