Antoine Semenyo has started the process of deciding his future as Chelsea became the latest club to register an interest in the Bournemouth forward.
Sources with knowledge of the situation have told BBC Sport that five clubs have enquired about the 25-year-old, to varying degrees, before the January transfer window.
Those clubs are understood to be Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham and now Chelsea.
The two Manchester clubs are believed to have had the most concrete conversations thus far.
Liverpool have also checked on the conditions of a deal for Semenyo and it remains to be seen if they accelerate their initial interest in light of Alexander Isak’s broken leg.
Tottenham are believed to be outsiders for the signature of the Ghana international, who joined the Cherries in 2023 from Bristol City.
Chelsea’s move for Semenyo provides an intriguing late twist in the race to land the attacker, who has a £65m release clause that is only active for the first 10 days of January. That clause was necessary to keep him at Bournemouth when agreeing his new contract in July.
The price, though, will drop slightly in the summer window.
That situation could appeal to Chelsea, who already have several wide options, including Pedro Neto, Estevao Willian, Alejandro Garnacho and Jamie Gittens.
The Blues have previously found both release clauses and signing players in advance attractive, with Strasbourg’s Dutch striker Emmanuel Emegha, 22, and Sporting’s 18-year-old Portuguese winger Geovany Quenda joining next summer after finalising transfers.
Bournemouth accept they are vulnerable to losing Semenyo and willing to negotiate with any club prepared to allow him to stay with them until the end of the season.
