Liverpool 'big news' as Reds 'now lead race' to sign Man Utd target; two prices set for bombshell deal

Liverpool are reportedly ‘now leading the race to sign Manchester United target Antoine Semenyo, who has sparkled for AFC Bournemouth this season.

In this summer’s transfer window, Liverpool were comfortably the biggest spending club in Europe as they made a statement after winning their 20th Premier League title in 2024/25.

The Reds invested around £415.5m on several statement signings and broke the British record transfer record twice to sign Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak. They also spent heavily to land Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and Giovanni Leoni.

Several notable exits funded these moves as Liverpool attempted to fill the void left by Trent Alexander-Arnold, Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz, Harvey Elliott and Jarell Quansah.

However, Liverpool’s performances before the international break indicate that Arne Slot and Co. have made too many changes in a single window, as they have suffered a decline at the start of this campaign and fallen from the top of the Premier League table.

READ: Who really won the transfer window? Why Newcastle and Arsenal had better summers than Liverpool

Most of Liverpool’s summer signings have struggled to make an impact as Slot’s side are lacking balance and suffered three straight away losses to Crystal Palace, Galatasaray and Chelsea before the international break.

The Reds will look to bounce back this weekend as they host arch-rivals Manchester United at Anfield, though each team are crying out for three points.

Despite their huge outlay in the summer, Liverpool are still short in a couple of positions and are likely to be active in the transfer market next year.

Marc Guehi reportedly remains a leading target, while they are also linked with Man Utd-linked Semenyo.

Now, a respected account on X with a ‘team of five elite reporters’ claimed Liverpool have moved to the front of the queue for Semenyo.

Regarding this ‘big news’, they said on X: ‘Exclusive: Liverpool now leading the race to sign Antoine Semenyo.

‘January £90m – £100m. Summer £70m Richard Hughes in direct contact with @afcbournemouth Big news.’

Regarding summer signing Wirtz, former Liverpool star Danny Murphy has explained what he needs to do to improve his form.

“I think he’s been a tad unlucky,” Murphy said in an interview with The Metro.

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“I’m not sure the narrative would be as strong if a lot of the chances he created had been put away, because he hasn’t made some really good chances.

“If I think back to the Everton game, even in Galatasaray, or the Chelsea game, the unbelievable flick for Salah, you’re looking at four or five chances in the last three games where he really should have a good few assists to his name, which has nothing to do with him. It’s just been some poor finishing.

“But he needs to do more. I think he is probably a little bit surprised how physical the league is and how intense it is.

“I mean, his running stats are good. It’s not so much running around in his fitness levels. It’s more just the physicality of the teams you’re coming up against when you play the likes of Newcastle or Arsenal or Palace. These are teams with really physical players.

“And maybe in the Bundesliga, the majority of the games he played, it wasn’t quite as intense. So, I think that element has maybe brought him out a little bit.

“But I’ve seen so much with him that I like. He’s such a clever footballer. So, I don’t really worry for him. I don’t think players of that class and that ability stay in a bad bit of form for long. They always come through and we’ve seen it in the past. So, I’m not concerned by him.”

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