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bournemouth Owner andoni irola has reiterated that he does not want to lose Antoine Semenyo following speculation about his future.
The forward has attracted the attention of a number of clubs including Manchester United, liverpool and tottenham, with Independent Understanding that Semenyo has a £65 million release clause In his contract which is active from January 1.
However, Ireola confirmed that Semenyo is still a Bournemouth player despite the “noise” surrounding him.
“Antoine Semenyo is with us now. He trained very well with us today,” Irola said.
“I understand there’s a lot of noise around Antoine. But my concern is that it doesn’t affect him, his performance, and we’re seeing that it’s not affecting his performance. He’s very committed to the team and I hope we can keep him there.
“There are situations we can’t control, but right now, Antoine is our player and he will continue to play for us. If you ask me, I don’t want to lose him, definitely don’t want to lose him. But as we always say, every time the market opens, you never know what’s going to happen.”
Semenyo has been key for the Cherries this season, scoring eight goals in 16 league games and setting up goals in their last two outings.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s clash with Brentford, Ierola said: “Antoine, for me, is performing very well. Not just the last two games, because he has scored. The level of consistency since the beginning of the season has been very good.”
“He’s had moments when he hasn’t scored and yet he’s been very valuable to us. In the end, we don’t just demand numbers, but he gives us a lot of things. It’s no secret that he’s a big player for us.”
Additional reporting from PA