Antoine Semenyo is set to complete his long-awaited move from Bournemouth to Manchester City after they finalised an agreement that does not require his release clause to be activated.

The 26-year-old signed off by scoring a late winner in Wednesday night’s victory over Tottenham Hotspur and has travelled north to undergo medical checks before joining the eight-time champions of England on a contract through to June 2031.

It sees City commit £62.5million (€71.97m) guaranteed and £1.5m (€1.7m) in bonuses, with Bournemouth entitled to 10 per cent of the profit if a future sale occurs.

The deal gives City better conditions — they will pay across 24 months rather than immediately — while Bournemouth earn more than the fixed amount stipulated by Semenyo’s release clause.

It was a mechanism worth around £65m but included solidarity commitments, VAT and a Premier League levy that would have left £60m.

This comfortably surpasses the initial amount in their previous record sale — Dominic Solanke’s 2024 switch to Spurs for £55m plus bonuses — and exceeds the bids for Semenyo last summer.

Semenyo scored Bournemouth’s dramatic late winner against Tottenham on Wednesday (Robin Jones – AFC Bournemouth/AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images)

Despite those previous opportunities to leave, the Ghana international extended his terms but stipulated they must feature a stated exit route.

That made Bournemouth largely powerless to stop Semenyo’s sale now, however, the south-coast side will view a tally of 21 appearances, 10 goals and three assists as invaluable to their season.

Convincing City to let him participate in three extra games, from which they have taken four vital points, reflects positively on Bournemouth’s ability to negotiate with even the biggest clubs.

It is also testament to the quality of their recruitment, development and trading that Semenyo is the latest player to depart for a far higher price than they arrived — and to a Champions League winner following Illia Zabarnyi (Paris Saint-Germain), Milos Kerkez (Liverpool) and Dean Huijsen (Real Madrid).

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Why were the Premier League’s top sides all interested in Semenyo?

Analysis by data writer Thom Harris

Semenyo’s threat on the transition is clear to see — he’s a frighteningly fast and powerful player who can chop on to either foot and strike through the ball cleanly.

Those skills are put to optimum use at Bournemouth, and are often the driving force behind the pitch-sweeping moves that Andoni Iraola’s side have quickly become known for. An emphatic finish on the opening day at Anfield, along with a rampaging run and cross for Eli Junior Kroupi away at Crystal Palace, stand out among his finest moments on the break.

In that regard, the admiration from Liverpool made a lot of sense. They are the side to have generated the most expected goals from fast breaks since Arne Slot took over last summer, while they have also missed trickery and fleet-footed incision on the wing since Luis Diaz departed for Bayern Munich.

Manchester United are another side who look to hit hard on the break. They could have benefited from Semenyo’s flashes of speed down the flanks.

There is more to the Ghanaian’s game than just flat-out running. Semenyo is one of the most two-footed wingers in world football, which, coupled with an imposing physical frame and quick feet, makes him a consistent threat against set defences. Only Erling Haaland has taken more non-penalty shots since the start of last season, and as you can see above, those efforts come from all angles, healthily outperforming his expected goals thanks to a reliable shooting technique.

Semenyo is a thrilling player with space to attack, but there is plenty for clubs to admire about his profile when it comes to breaking down deeper defensive blocks.

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Why did City want him so much?

Analysis from Jordan Campbell

A hallmark of every Pep Guardiola team has been incisive wide players who can eliminate opponents in one-versus-one situations and contribute double figures in goals.

As much as Jeremy Doku looks to be improving his end product, Guardiola admitted in his press conference after the 3-0 win against Liverpool that it is unlikely the Belgium winger will ever be one of City’s top scorers.

Savinho, who Guardiola said on Wednesday could miss up to two months with injury, and Oscar Bobb do not quite have the killer instinct in the final third yet, either. It means City have not quite replaced the output of Riyad Mahrez, or even Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling.

The reliance on Erling Haaland has become pronounced, and Semenyo will offer a direct threat from either wing, improving City on the counter-attack.

City have developed into title contenders. Adding Semenyo will be seen as a statement, the arrival of a peak-age player who could be relied upon to be a match-winner.