'Semenyo contract should ward off the vultures... for now'

Antoine Semenyo's new contract was the positive news Bournemouth fans have been craving.

The elation of the Cherries' record breaking season was quickly replaced by a fear that many of their top performers would be plucked away by bigger clubs, so it will be a welcome relief that Semenyo has not followed Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez out the door.

Semenyo is powerful, aggressive and a huge part of the way Bournemouth play under Andoni Iraola. Losing him this summer would probably have been a bigger blow to supporter moral than the departures of Huijsen and Kerkez, who had both been expected to leave for some time.

Despite the speculation about Semenyo's future, I think there was always a quiet confidence amongst the Cherries hierarchy that their joint-top goalscorer from last season would decide to stay.

The contract is essentially just a one-year extension to the long-term deal he signed last summer but it should do enough to ward off the circling vultures for the short-term at least.

Bournemouth have developed Semenyo into one of the most dangerous attackers in the Premier League and he will undoubtedly have ambitions to play European football in the future.

The challenge for the Cherries now will be to match those ambitions.