Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has added plenty of attacking talent to his squad in his first summer transfer window in charge but there were some hiccups
While Manchester United spent more than £200million on summer signings, Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo was the one who got away. United head coach Ruben Amorim met with the Ghana international, it has been claimed, only for Semenyo to agree a new deal at the Vitality Stadium.
"I’ve grown so much at the club, both on and off the pitch, and I’m really happy to have signed ahead of returning for pre-season," Semenyo told club media after signing an extension until 2030. “From the fans to the staff and my teammates, I can’t speak highly enough of the people around the club."
Newcastle and Tottenham were both linked with the 25-year-old, though interest cooled after he agreed his new deal. According to The Transfers Podcast, though, United were interested since the spring and pushed hard for a move.
Ruben Amorim is reported to have met Semenyo for dinner in London at the end of last season to judge the player's character. CEO Omar Berrada and transfer chief Jason Wilcox also held conversations with Bournemouth over the former Bristol City star, but to no avail.
United were ready to fork out £55million on Semenyo, valuing his proven Premier League quality. However, the player himself is said to have committed his future to Bournemouth after learning United were planning to pay him less than what they offered to other targets.
Those targets, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha, both joined United for more than £60m. Cameroon international Mbeumo is already off the mark for his new club, scoring in a 3-2 league victory over Burnley, but Cunha was injured during the same match.
Semenyo has kept up his good form for Bournemouth after scoring a career-high 11 league goals last term and 13 in all competitions. He scored both goals for the Cherries as they faced Liverpool on the opening weekend of the season, and also set up Marcus Tavernier's winner in a victory over Wolves.
He scored home and away against United last season as Bournemouth won at Old Trafford and conceded a last-minute equaliser in the reverse fixture. The two teams won't meet until December this season.
Bournemouth's ability to hang onto Semenyo was important in the light of a number of high-profile summer exits. Three members of last season's back four completed big-money exits, with Milos Kerkez joining Liverpool, Illia Zabarnyi moving to Paris Saint-Germain and Dean Huijsen making a dream move to Real Madrid.
The Cherries also cashed in on Dango Ouattara, who joined Brentford for around £42m, with Philip Billing and Mark Travers among the fringe players to move on. Andoni Iraola's side have also spent big over the summer, making defender Bafode Diakite the second most expensive signing in their history and also picking up Djordje Petrovic and Ben Gannon Doak from other Premier League clubs.