Chelsea icon Joe Cole has thrown his weight behind the idea of his former club launching a serious bid for Bournemouth’s in-demand forward Antoine Semenyo, insisting the electric Ghanaian attacker would walk straight into Enzo Maresca’s starting XI.
Semenyo has lit up the Premier League this season, delivering six goals and three assists in just 11 outings, form that has inevitably put several top-flight sides on alert. His long-term contract, signed in the summer and running until 2030, reportedly includes a £65 million release clause, setting a clear benchmark for any suitors.
Despite Chelsea’s already-packed winger department, boosted by the arrivals of Alejandro Garnacho, Jamie Gittens, and breakout 18-year-old Estevao, Cole believes Semenyo brings a different edge and is exactly the type of player the Blues should be targeting.
Cole, speaking to Paddy Power, didn’t hide his enthusiasm.
“Knowing Chelsea, he might be too old! I’d have to check his age, but from a football perspective, if he’s available, and he wants to come, it’s a no-brainer in terms of bringing him into the football club,” he remarked.
“With Chelsea’s model, there’ll be a financial element and evaluation element to it, so it’ll come down to that. He’d be a welcome addition to the Chelsea squad, and he probably starts, because he’s been superb for Bournemouth.’”
While speculation around Semenyo continues to intensify, Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola is refusing to get caught up in the frenzy. The Spaniard made it clear he sees no immediate threat of losing the 25-year-old, and brushed aside transfer talk as premature.
“We are in November. Antoine is our player; he will continue being our player. In January, you can ask me about the market in January, but right now I’m not worried about the next markets,” Iraola said on Friday.
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“It’s something that especially you know that I hate to talk about in August, January, the moments when the market is open, but it is not one of those moments. It’s November. I’m more worried about the situation of the players to play tomorrow, the short-term, the things that really matter and in January, we will talk about whatever happens, the players we need. But it is not something that I’m worried about today.”
With Semenyo’s form skyrocketing and interest piling up, the stage is set for a potential winter transfer saga, one that Chelsea, according to Cole, would be wise not to sit out.
