Bristol City eyeing up Luton Town forward as potential Antoine Semenyo replacement | OneFootball

Bristol City are set to make a move for versatile Luton Town forward Harry Cornick as a replacement for Antoine Semenyo, who looks poised to join Premier League outfit Bournemouth this week.

The Robins are set to lose academy graduate Semenyo to the Cherries after a bid of an initial £9 million along with performance-related add-ons was accepted by the City hierarchy, and despite Crystal Palace also being in the race, the Ghana international is set for a medical with Gary O’Neil’s side.

And Nigel Pearson wants to bring in some Championship experience to replace Semenyo with as Cornick is on his radar earlier than planned, with a summer swoop initially favoured for the 27-year-old.

Cornick’s contract at Kenilworth Road expires this coming summer, but City will now make a play for his services in the final days of the January transfer window following developments in Semenyo’s situation.

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Cornick has been a Luton player since 2017, and has risen from League Two to the Championship with the Hatters, and in the third tier of English football he has scored 23 times and assisted 19 goals in 142 matches, sharing his time between the centre-forward and winger positions.

He plundered in 12 league goals last season for Luton in their run to the play-offs, but Cornick has netted just once in 19 outings in the 2022-23 campaign with the majority of his appearances coming off the bench.

The Verdict

Cornick wouldn’t be the long-term solution to replace Semenyo, but he would be a short-term fix who could also start for the next couple of years.

Ideally, City need an explosive player capable of playing through the middle or out wide, but those types will typically only come about in the summer and not in mid-season.

In Cornick, there is a player there with lots of Championship experience but who has also fallen down the pecking order at Kenilworth Road due to their strong attacking options, whereas the Robins are desperately short in the final third.

Therefore, a move for more first-team football, as well as a potential pay-rise, could suit Cornick, but time is running out in the transfer window so City need to move sharp.