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Manchester United have “held talks” with Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo as the club ramps up plans for a comprehensive overhaul of Ruben Amorim’s first-team squad this summer, according to a report by talkSPORT.
Semenyo, 25, has enjoyed a breakout season for the Cherries with nine goals and five assists in the league this year as the winger has helped propel Andoni Iraola’s side to their best Premier League campaign in history.
Despite being deployed as a more traditional wide midfielder in the Spanish manager’s 4-4-2 set-up, Semenyo has found no issue being a constant threat to opposition defences.
The Ghanaian international is equally comfortable playing on either wing and demonstrates a potent pairing of speed and size, possessing an usually imposing 6’1 frame for a winger while retaining excellent mobility.
Semenyo is also as hard-working off the ball as he is skilful on it – a prerequisite to play in Iraola’s high-intensity system which seeks to suffocate teams through constant pressure.
The 25-year-old ranks in the 98th percentile for blocks, 94th for aerial duels, 86th for clearances and 75th for tackles amongst wingers across Europe’s top leagues.
And it’s this profile – an industrious winger with versatility, technique and physicality in equal measure – which is likely to be driving Amorim’s obsession with the Bournemouth star. The Portuguese coach is described as “very fond” of Semenyo after previously revealing the need to raise the physical floor of United’s squad.
One of the key issues Amorim has encountered since arriving at Old Trafford is a lack of options for the wing-back position – a crucial area of the pitch in his 3-4-2-1 system.
Despite signing a specialist in Patrick Dorgu in January, the best performances at wing-back have come from the team’s most effective forward, Amad.
The Ivorian winger offers a level of attacking threat from the right wing-back position that neither senior option – Diogo Dalot or Noussair Mazraoui – can match, nor have any of the candidates at left wing-back come close to replicating on the other side of the pitch.
If United were to sign Semenyo – a player with the ideal skillet to thrive as a wing-back in Amorim’s system – it would enable the Portuguese coach to keep Amad as one of his number tens, while the Ghanaian international overlaps the 22-year-old winger on the outside.
Equally, Semenyo’s versatility would also enable Amorim to play him at left wing-back in place of a more defensive option like Dorgu or Luke Shaw, should he want to field a more attacking line-up by playing Amad on the opposing flank.
Given how important the wing-backs to Amorim’s system it’s little wonder the Red Devils have already approached Bournemouth over a potential deal for Semenyo. A price of £70 million has been mooted to secure the 25-year-old’s services, which had originally thought to be too expensive for United’s budget.
But the fact the club have now held direct talks with the player himself, as per talkSPORT, suggests a move could be heading in the direction their head coach wants for a target he is smitten with.
Featured image Lewis Storey via Getty Images
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