It was revealed recently that Antoine Semenyo has a £65m release clause in his Bournemouth contract and Darren Bent believes the forward would be the ideal replacement for Mo Salah at Liverpool.
The former Premier League forward reckons the Egyptian King is ‘slowing down a fraction’ and the ‘unstoppable’ Semenyo could be the answer to the Premier League champions’ problems.
Bent has been blown away by what he’s seen from the Bournemouth ace this season with him netting six goals and registering three assists in 11 league games.
“He has exploded out of the traps this season and he just looks really comfortable in himself,” he said of Semenyo on talkSPORT (via Metro).
“Every game you see him do something and you go, “Oh my goodness”… he’s one of those rare players and I call players like this unstoppable. Gareth Bale was like that.
“When I talk about unstoppable I’m talking about their attributes. When Bale started to move, you just couldn’t stop him and Semenyo is the same. Once he gets going, he’s going past people and he’s gliding.
“What’s good about him is that he can go both ways. I think he’s got the full package.”
Having the ability to operate on either flank, Semenyo is a player who would bring immense quality to Liverpool’s front line which is already stacked with talent.
After a terrific start to the campaign which saw the Reds win their opening seven games (across all competitions), Arne Slot’s side have faulted in recent weeks and now find themselves eighth in the Premier League table – eight points behind leaders Arsenal.
One of the most disappointing aspects of the campaign so far is the performances of Mo Salah, the club’s record Premier League goalscorer.
The 33-year-old still has eight goal contributions in 16 appearances this term but has looked way off the pace as those around him have struggled to produce the same sort of performances that helped them lift title No. 20 last time out.
“For so long now, Liverpool have been able to depend on Salah on that right-hand side, season upon season, and don’t get me wrong, he’s been one of the best players we’ve ever seen in this country,” Bent added.
“But the signs are that he potentially maybe is slowing down a fraction. Now, all of a sudden, you have to start addressing both sides.”
In today’s market £65m is somewhat of a bargain – especially for a player who has his best years still ahead of him and has proved he can do it in the Premier League already.
A deal must be agreed by a certain date if Bournemouth are to sell Semenyo at that price in the winter window so it remains to be seen what will happen but it’s hard to argue against Bent’s comments.
We know Salah is still capable of being a match-winner on his day but there will come a point where his replacement needs finding.
There are some issues with signing players of African descent when they go for afcon competition. Ghana didn’t qualify this time round and semenyo is free. Can’t understand why they need to hold the competition in Jan though, perhaps any experts can enlighten me?
Well, if it ain’t rhetorical, one’s happy to help, though the information you require is readily available upon a light internet search.
You’re possibly aware that Africa has a hot climate during the northern hemisphere’s summer months. Though South Africa less so.
This causes issues not just with the playing conditions for the players, but also the huge migrations of fans from all over the continent.
They also hold the tournament every two years, as opposed to the WC and the Euros with every four years.
There’s probably political and financial reasons for such.
Check out Wikipedia etc. for the gen on other confederations’ international competitions, it makes interesting reading.
Thank you neph. Old man like me seldom search the internet. Now this makes sense. Hot weather is the reason. Might want to suggest morning and night matches per day but I guess logistics and transportation could be an issue. This is also why I mention the caveat of having players of African descent – they might be unavailable for club football for some time.
Easy enough to search for the EotK website though, Red ? 😉😉
One should also be able to extrapolate the hot weather problems for the up and coming WC in Canada/Mexico/USA.
It’s been reported that FIFA have been lobbied by countries unused to such weather to ensure their players and fans are kept safe.
Kick off times have been under discussion accordingly, but of course the different time zones around the world mean e.g. An England game k.o. at 8pm in L.A. means it’ll be on the telly at around 4am here.
There’ll be some flexibility required.
You’ll recall from memory the problems the England and Scotland sides had with the heat in Mexico ’86.
I’m afraid you’ll have to be a little clearer about your caveat about African national players, or are you referring to players with some African/West Indian heritage, no matter their nationality ?
What’s that, neph ? A chap who knows what a caveat is, but can’t use the internet ?
Does he spend a lot of time in courts ?
What I think RoM is getting at, and he’s welcome to correct me if I’m wrong, is that he’s suggesting that EPL clubs will get better value for their salaries if they don’t sign African nationals for the sole reason it’ll mean less disruption to team selection options to EPL managers every other Dec/Jan.
This could be a politically unfortunate view to hold, as the EPL takes in a lot of revenue from African countries through its TV and merchandising, and of course, those countries would like some of it back as well as improving their own home-grown players in the EPL.
The same could be applied to players the EPL employs from other parts of the world.
It may be the English Premier League, but in reality it is a British product with global responsibilities.