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Bristol City have recalled young striker Antoine Semenyo from his loan at Newport County.

The official announcement comes in the face of speculation linking the forward with a move to Chelsea, who have three players on loan at Ashton Gate currently.

Manchester United have been credited with an interest in the last few months too - with club legend Brian Tinnion admitting that the Red Devils have been watching the young forward who caught the eye of Martin Keown recently as the Exiles beat Leicester City in the FA Cup.

However, the Robins are known to be looking for a forward with physical attributes themselves to complete their January transfer window and it could be that Semenyo has been recalled to offer back-up to Famara Diedhiou.

(Image: Getty)

On Friday BristolLive asked head coach Lee Johnson how the hunt for a striker was going.

"We spoke previously about bringing in Kasey to give us that spark and - touch wood - if Fam did go down then we wouldn't have a like for like replacement for those attributes," said the Bristol City head coach.

"We'll see. But listen, if we don't get one I won't throw my toys out of the pram. I'll just continue coaching the team."

The Robins may see Semenyo as being the man to offer the cover that they need.

Alternatively, rumours of a sale could prove true and a move to a Premier League side could be on the cards.

However, the Robins could instead be tidying up ahead of a loan move further up the English football pyramid.

Certainly former Arsenal defender Keown is a big fan as the ex-central defender told readers of his Daily Mail column to remember the name of Antoine Semenyo.

Club CEO Mark Ashton recently hinted that the plan was to leave him on loan in south Wales.

"We’ve been talking about the u23s out on loan for the last two or three months," said Ashton earlier this month in a radio interview.

"Lee himself has gone out to see the lads at Newport. We had a lot of discussions of who we bring back, when we bring them back, and at the moment we think the boys who are out on loan are getting really good, competitive football.

"It’s about getting minutes under their belts and getting them ready for the combative football in the championship," he explained.

The next days should reveal all for the former SGS pupil.