Fabrizio Romano reported earlier this month that Chelsea had decided against signing Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo in the January transfer window.
The Blues last week inquired about the possibility of signing the Ghanaian international before deciding not to trigger his release clause next month.
Sky Sports have reported that Manchester City are close to signing Semenyo, having begun negotiations with Bournemouth over a £65m transfer fee.
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The Blues opted not to pursue a deal for the 25-year-old Premier League star in January, but signing the left-winger should remain a priority for the Blues when the transfer window opens.
Chelsea paid £48.5m for Jamie Gittens and £40m for Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho in the summer transfer window, but neither player has provided consistent quality in the final third.
25/26 Premier League | grenache | Gitten’s |
|---|---|---|
Appearance | 12 | 13 |
xG | 1.90 | 0.82 |
the goal | 1 | 0 |
time per goal | 720 | Not applicable |
Key paths per game | 1.1 | 0.7 |
A big opportunity has arisen | 4 | 2 |
assist | 2 | 2 |
Statistics by Sofascore | ||
As you can see from the table above, both of these signings have contributed little to the team at the top end of the Premier League pitch, with a combined one goal and four assists in 25 appearances this season.
According to Sofascore, Garnacho has scored four goals in all competitions for the Blues so far this season, two of which came against Cardiff in League One and one against Qarabag in the Champions League.
Chelsea’s poor form so far suggests the club still needs quality options in its squad, which makes it all the more frustrating that the Blues have lost a young talent who was once better than Semenyo.
Former Chelsea star now far better than Antoine Semenyo
Supporters of the club will already be familiar with the stories of stars who have left Stamford Bridge and gone on to achieve greatness. Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah stand out as two star players who have escaped them.
Jamal Musiala is one of those players. He left the club more than six years ago, in the summer of 2019, at the age of 16 to sign for Bayern Munich, citing family reasons to return to Germany.
It’s hard to blame Chelsea for losing their attacking midfielder as there was a family element to his decision, but it will still be a tough decision for club officials given what he has achieved so far.
Musiala, whose dribbling was described as “insane” by scout Ben Mattinson, quickly rose to the top of Bayern Munich’s first team, making his Bundesliga debut in the 2019/20 season and since then establishing himself as a great talent.
The German international, who has a £153m release clause in his current contract with Bayern, has scored 64 goals and provided 39 assists in 207 appearances at first-team level, according to Transfermarkt.
As you can see from the table above, Musiala has scored double-digit goals in all competitions over the past three seasons, including scoring over 20 goals for the first time last season.
Semenyo, who is three years older than Musiala, has only reached double-digit goals once in the Premier League in his career, but is one goal away from double-digit goals and is yet to register a double-digit assist.
The Bayern Munich star’s consistency over several seasons and his outstanding performance prior to his current injury suggest he is a much better wing or attacking midfield option than Semenyo, as is the Bournemouth star, and that is reflected in his release clause.
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Musiala’s release clause makes him worth more than double the value of the Cherries star, who has a £65m release clause, and Chelsea may still regret the fact they lost him to Bayern while previously keeping him in their academy.
