‘Serious Rivals’—Man Utd Enter Race for £65 Million Man City, Tottenham Target

The Red Devils consider it an opportunity that might be too good to ignore.

Ruben Amorim’s attack could get another boost. / Nigel French/Sportsphoto/Allstar/Getty Images

Manchester United are reported to be “serious rivals” for Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur in the pursuit of goalscoring Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo.

United spent in excess of £200 million ($268.4 million) on three new forwards in the summer—Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Šeško—and it appears to have done the job.

If a lack of goals was the team’s biggest problem in a historically poor Premier League campaign in 2025–26, United are finding the net much more frequently this season. After 16 rounds of fixtures, Ruben Amorim’s team have scored 30 goals in the league. That is the same output as leaders Arsenal, while only Manchester City (38) have found the net more often.

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Midfield, where United have struggled to control games, was thought to be the next priority. However, opportunism, as it so often does in the transfer market, could dictate a move for another attacking signing instead.

Mbeumo and Amad temporarily leaving to participate in the Africa Cup of Nations with Cameroon and Ivory Coast respectively highlights a potential lack of depth, especially with Šeško only just returning from an injury absence. Regardless of players being away on international duty, even just a couple of injuries at the top of the pitch at any one time could leave United short.

Enter, Semenyo.

Antoine Semenyo scored his seventh Premier League goal of the season this week. / Robin Jones/AFC Bournemouth/Getty Images

Sky Sports writes United are “firmly in the race” for Semenyo as the Ghana international’s £65 million release clause gets closer to becoming active next month. City are “keeping close tabs” on the situation and Tottenham are in the mix as well, but United feel the release clause is an opportunity they must “genuinely consider,” even though it wasn’t the original plan to recruit another forward.

Still, Semenyo, who scored against United at Old Trafford on Monday night, as Bournemouth played their part in a pulsating 4–4 draw, has at least been of interest for some time. This isn’t knee jerk.

However, the caveat for any approach is that it doesn’t negatively impact what money will be available to spend on a new midfielder come the summer—Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton, Carlos Baleba, Conor Gallagher, João Gomes, André, Angelo Stiller and Éderson are eight possible options linked, with price tags ranging from £30–£100 million.

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Amorim Denies Need for Defensive Recruitment

Ruben Amorim is satisfied with his existing defenders. / Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images

Having scored four times and boasting one of the Premier League’s most potent attacks, United’s failure to claim all three points against Bournemouth was down to defensive frailty.

The two goals conceded in quick succession straight after half time has been a repeat problem this season, notably in the 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest last month. Defensively, 26 goals conceded gives United the sixth worst record in the Premier League so far this season.

Amorim noted after the Bournemouth game that his team is pressing well and therefore defending as he would like in areas high up the pitch, but not in and around their own penalty area.

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However, he refuted the idea that United could address the problems by recruiting more defenders, insisting that the existing players have sufficient talent to become better.

“I think we are pressing better, we are controlling games better far from our goal,” he said. “But we need to work a lot in the way we defend the box.

He added later: “We have quality players in the back, we just need to be better as a team defending ... we just need to work together and to improve our players because they have quality to defend better.”

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