Exciting winger is READY to join Liverpool after WORLD-CLASS performance

At time of writing, Liverpool sit on top of the Premier League, two points ahead of Manchester City.

Liverpool returned top yesterday after a blitz saw them score two goals in three minutes late on in the game to defeat Brighton 2-1.

Manchester City, meanwhile, fell to an unexpected 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth. The title holders were fully outclassed on the day, giving up waves of attacks to an exciting, young Bournemouth side under manager Andoni Iraola.

Read more: Slot reveals MAJOR Konate injury update

Before the game yesterday morning, Sky Sports News Editor Lyall Thomas tweeted out that, amongst others, Liverpool are interested in Bournemouth attacker Antoine Semenyo as they plan for the future.

The rumours almost certainly have credability too, with new sporting director Richard Hughes being technical director at Bournemouth when Semenyo was signed.

It probably helped, then, that Semenyo played what was probably his best game of the season so far against City, earning a 9.0 rating on FotMob.

City looked placid but Semenyo was everywhere, involved with everything good that Bournemouth did on the day.

He pressed Nathan Ake to win the ball back as the defender wandered into no-mans-land, and then sprinted in behind to be found by Marcus Tavernier with his shot being saved well by Ederson.

After this, he opened the scoring by tracking Liverpool-linked Milos Kerkez’s mazy run past Phil Foden, taking up a central position in the box, trapping Kerkez’s cross before spinning and dispatching it with impressive athleticism.

The second half proved no different. He took a great touch from Marcos Senesi’s long ball just 50 seconds into the half to play Evanilson in for another good chance saved by Ederson.

After this, Semenyo dribbled his way out of the City press and found Kerkez with an inch-perfect pass, who played Evanilson in for the second.

How would Semenyo fit at Liverpool?

The game was the ultimate experience of what Semenyo could bring to this Liverpool side. He typically occupies Mo Salah’s right wing position - whose contract status is unclear - but is more fluid in Iraola’s system, playing on the left or centrally at times when required.

His ability on the ball is his truest strength. He is a patient dribbler, confident in his ability to ride tackles and often baiting defenders into committing so that he can dribble into the space past them.

His goal involvements this season have largely arrived from beating defenders on the outside, with his acceleration meaning it is difficult for defenders to match him when he squares them up.

This is evidenced by his 1.95 successful take-ons per-90 this season - exactly the same as Salah.

But he also creatively solves problems. If a defender isn’t committing to tackles and shadows him inside, his ability to fake shots and use quick feet to still create space is evident. He did this both against Arsenal and Southampton this season.

Additionally, he positions himself well and can read the progression of the game to ensure he is always a viable option for low crosses into the box. It is only his finishing which could be improved and that will, naturally, get better over time.

If Liverpool were to move in for the player, he could provide an exciting replacement for Mo Salah.

Whilst no one will ever be able to replace the Egyptian, Semenyo on the right and Luis Diaz on the left would prove an incredibly difficult proposition for opposing defences, especially if partnered by a central striker willing to make runs into space and receive the ball to feet.

Read more: Guardiola's RIDICULOUS excuse for Man City defeat