Antoine Semenyo: Bournemouth winger has £65m January release clause in contract

Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo has a £65m release clause in his contract that can be activated during the first two weeks of the January transfer window, BBC Sport has been told.

The Ghana international attracted interest from several clubs including Manchester United and Tottenham in the summer only for the 25-year-old to sign a new five-year deal at Vitality Stadium on 1 July.

However, BBC Sport has learned that his new contract contains a release clause of £65m that can be triggered in the first two weeks of the winter transfer window in order to allow Bournemouth enough time to replace their star player.

The winter transfer window opens on Thursday, 1 January 2026 for Premier League and English Football League (EFL) clubs and closes at 19:00 GMT on Monday, 2 February.

Semenyo has been in excellent form in the Premier League this season, scoring six goals and providing three assists in 11 appearances for Andoni Iraola’s side.

Last season he hit double figures for the first time in his career – 11 goals in the league and 13 in all competitions.

Londoner Semenyo qualifies for Ghana through his father.

He was rejected by Arsenal, Spurs and Millwall as a youngster before joining the West Country academy run by former Leeds and Forest Green manager Dave Hockaday.

Bristol City signed him in 2017 but he needed loan spells at Bath, Newport and Sunderland before breaking into the Robins first team during the 2020-21 season.

In January 2023 he made a £10m move to Bournemouth and has been improving ever since.

Semenyo’s goals helped Bournemouth finish ninth last season but they sold three of their back four – Illia Zabarnyi, Milos Kerkez and Dean Huijsen – for almost £150m during the summer.

They also failed to make goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga’s loan move from Chelsea permanent, with the Spaniard joining Arsenal instead – but keeping hold of Semenyo has proved vital for the club this season.