Chelsea have made an inquiry about signing Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth. The winger’s deal contains a £65m release clause in January and he is also a target for Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United.

Chelsea were not regarded as a likely destination for Semenyo but have contacted the player’s camp to explore the conditions of a deal. There is optimism at Stamford Bridge that the Ghana international will be interested in joining. Chelsea hope Semenyo, who is from London, will appreciate their long-term project and see an opportunity to make an immediate impact at a top club.

The view at Chelsea is that the 25-year-old would give their squad a different dimension. Semenyo would offer an added aerial threat and enviable pace and power. He has scored eight goals and provided three assists in the Premier League this season.

Chelsea are not short of options in attacking midfield, with Enzo Maresca able to choose from Cole Palmer, Jamie Gittens, Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho, Estêvão Willian, João Pedro and Facundo Buonanotte, who is on loan from Brighton. But the club like Semenyo’s versatility and the fact he has proved himself in the Premier League. Semenyo can play on both flanks and as a striker.

Bournemouth will be hopeful of keeping Semenyo for the rest of the season but have shown they are not averse to selling their best players. Their manager, Andoni Iraola, said on Tuesday: “He has trained today with us, very well. I understand that there is a lot of noise around Antoine but my concern is that it doesn’t affect him, his performances, and we are seeing that it is not affecting his performances. He is very committed to the team and I hope we can keep him there.

“There are situations that we cannot control but right now Antoine is our player and he’s going to continue playing for us. If you ask me, I don’t want to lose him, definitely don’t want to lose him. But like we always say, every time the market opens, you never know what’s going to happen.”