Darren Bent says Liverpool should sign ‘unstoppable’ £65m star ahead of Man Utd

Darren Bent has been blown away by Antoine Semenyo’s excellent start to the season and believes Liverpool should be looking at the forward as a potential replacement for Mohamed Salah.

Semenyo has played an instrumental role in Bournemouth’s early-season success, racking up six goals and three assists in his first 11 appearances, with the club climbing to as high as second in the Premier League table last month.

Having suffered successive defeats before the international break, though, Semenyo and Co must regroup and look to put things right when they return to action at home to lowly West Ham this weekend.

Dean Huijsen, Illia Zabarnyi and Milos Kerkez all secured big-money moves away from the Vitality Stadium in the summer and Andoni Iraola has received widespread praise for the way he has managed to cope since losing the defensive trio.

Semenyo had also been heavily linked with a possible exit and Iraola will no doubt have breathed a sigh of relief as the Cherries managed to keep hold of the 25-year-old when the transfer deadline came and went.

However, speculation over Semenyo’s future has risen to the surface again this week amid reports of a £65million release clause in the attacker’s contract which can be activated in the first two weeks of the January window.

It’s understood Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham have all been alerted to a potential deal – and former England striker Bent is not at all surprised to see teams queuing up for the ‘unstoppable’ Ghana international.

‘He has exploded out of the traps this season and he just looks really comfortable in himself,’ he said of Semenyo on talkSPORT.

‘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.’

Bent could see Semenyo joining Premier League champions Liverpool down the line, likening Bournemouth man’s game to that of Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku,

‘He’s a little bit like Doku at Manchester City. Right now he’s unstoppable,’ he added.

‘I don’t like talking about who needs him the most as it’s about building a squad.

‘He’s just seen his team-mate [Dean Huijsen] go from Bournemouth to Real Madrid and another [Illia Zabarnyi] go to PSG.

‘I think he [Semenyo] would go to Liverpool. I think he can get into any top, top squad.

‘You’re still going to get more than enough minutes but it depends on his ambition. His ambition might be: “Get me to Manchester City, I’m better than Doku,” that might be his mindset.’

Bent believes Semenyo’s ability and willingness to play across the frontline would be a big plus for Liverpool, especially with Salah showing signs of ‘slowing down a fraction’ this season.

‘It’s a really good point, the fact that he can play on both sides,’ the ex-Tottenham, Sunderland and Charlton star went on.

‘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.

‘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.’

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