JAMIE REDKNAPP has been mocked after claiming a ‘twist’ in the Antoine Semenyo transfer race, hours before Man City look to be closing in on the deal.
The Sky Sports pundit refused to believe Semenyo’s heavily-rumoured move from Bournemouth to Man City, wishfully claiming on Wednesday evening that Liverpool were still in the race.
But on Thursday morning, Redknapp was left red-faced as David Ornstein confirmed Man City are close to completing the signing of Semenyo in a deal worth about £62.5m on a five-and-a-half-year contract.
Redknapp said: “I’m not saying it’s a Sky Sports breaking news moment, but all I’m saying is I’ve heard tonight it might not be the foregone conclusion everyone’s talking about.
“There might still be a little twist. I think Liverpool could still be in the equation.”
Fans have been quick to mock Redknapp’s bold claim on social media platforms.
One user wrote on X: “Fairplay, Redknapp looks a right fool for those Semenyo comments.”
Another said: “He opened Twitter, saw a blag “ITK” post and believed it *laughing emoji*”
The retired midfielder, who made more than 200 appearances for Liverpool, went on to explain that Semenyo would be a fitting replacement for the out-of-form Mohamed Salah.
Redknapp, 52, added: “If you’ve got a player of that quality and he shows you he’s a match winner, he turns up in the big moments, why wouldn’t you be in for him?”
BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK
The Ghanaian winger’s last contribution to his former club was scoring the winner in Bournemouth’s dramatic 3-2 win over Tottenham.
Following injuries to Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike, Liverpool find themselves short-handed in attacking options.
TRANSFER NEWS LIVE: FOLLOW ALL THE LATEST FROM THE JANUARY WINDOW
Under-fire manager Arne Slot has recently opted to play central midfielders Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai in wide positions.
With Semenyo now off to Manchester, Liverpool will need to look elsewhere to boost their ambitions of finishing in a Champions League spot.
There has been precedent of last-minute transfer hijacks, most recently when Arsenal swooped in at the death to pry Eberechi Eze away from Tottenham’s grasps.
Spurs were again on the receiving end of a transfer hijack in 2013, when Brazilian winger Willian completed a medical at White Hart Lane.
But he swiftly changed his mind when a phone call from then-Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to his agent shook things up.
There will be no such drama in Liverpool’s favour this time, though.
