Bristol City have rejected two quick-fire offers for Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth with the second totalling £10million, Bristol Live understands.
The Cherries made an initial offer in the region of £8million on Wednesday which was considerably short of City's asking price. They then returned with an improved bid believed to be an initial £8m plus £2m in add-ons which has also been turned down.
Bournemouth are now considering walking away from the deal and pursue other targets. Manager Gary O'Neil was hoping to sign the City striker ahead of this weekend's crunch clash with Nottingham Forest.
O'Neil is eager to bolster his attacking options this month especially following injuries to Dominic Solanke and Marcus Tavernier. The Cherries are currently one point adrift of the drop zone having scored 18 goals in 19 games.
The offers have fallen considerably short of the club's valuation for Semenyo who has 18 months left on his Robins contract. City activated the one-year option in his deal last month to provide extra financial security over his future.
Nigel Pearson has previously suggested the club do not need to cash in on either Semenyo or Alex Scott this month in order to bring in new arrivals. However, City will need to sell the Ghanaian striker either this month or in the summer to avoid a situation where they could lose one of their most profitable talents for minimal compensation.
Since the turn of the year, Semenyo's form has picked up considerably with three goals and an assist in his last four matches. Having missed pre-season due to a shin injury sustained on international duty, he went 17 games without a goal earlier in the campaign but has shown glimpses in recent weeks that he is very much getting back to his best.
Although every player has a price, City will be cautious about selling Semenyo this month. Firstly, the recent hamstring injuries to both Andi Weimann and Tommy Conway would mean his departure would leave them short in attack.
Secondly, City are six points clear of the bottom three and losing a player of Semenyo's calibre will only weaken the squad. If their valuation is met, Pearson will also certainly have to find a replacement with 12 days left of the window but deals are notoriously difficult to complete in January with clubs able to over-inflate their valuations.
City are yet to make a signing this month but have every intention to strengthen should cash become available. The manager has reinforced the message that players will have to leave before any incomings can be completed.
Pearson wants a central defender and attacking midfielder this month while a new striker will also be on the list should an offer for Semenyo be accepted. After the FA Cup victory over Swansea City on Tuesday night, Pearson said they had received nothing concrete in terms of outgoings as they aim to offload Timm Klose and Chris Martin this month.
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