Dean Jones has dropped a worrying claim on reported Celtic transfer target Antoine Semenyo.

What's the talk?

In a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT, the transfer insider stated his belief that, despite it being reported that Celtic have sent scouts to watch the Bristol City centre-forward in action ahead of a potential swoop for the 22-year-old this summer, Ange Postecoglou's side will not be able to afford a move for the striker - with the Robins believed to be demanding a figure of £20m for Semenyo's services.

When asked about Celtic's interest in the Englishman, Jones replied: "I don't know if they could afford him."

Fans will be gutted

While it is true that Celtic do not exactly lack in central attacking options, with Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda and Giorgos Giakoumakis all comfortable operating in the centre-forward role, considering the sheer amount of potential Semenyo quite clearly possesses, the news that the Bhoys may be priced out of a move for the 22-year-old this summer is sure to have left the Parkhead faithful gutted.

Indeed, despite Bristol City's struggles so far this season - with the Robins currently sitting 16th in the Championship standings - the £3.5k-per-week forward has nevertheless been in devastating form over his 19 league appearances, having already scored six goals, registered eight assists and created four big chances for his teammates.

These returns have seen the £1.08m-rated hitman average a quite extraordinary SofaScore match rating of 7.02, ranking him as his club's third-best performer in the second tier of English football.

However, while Semenyo's ability in the final third is without question, whether or not Nigel Pearson's side will be successful in demanding such an astronomical figure as £20m for the transfer of the 22-year-old very much remains to be seen.

Either way, considering Celtic's recent business model of signing undervalued players, before developing them and subsequently selling them on for big profits, the Robins hitman does not exactly fit this bill - especially not for tens of millions of pounds.

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