Semenyo was on target again on Sunday (AEDT), but could not prevent Bournemouth from suffering a 4-1 defeat away at Brentford.

The winger has been directly involved in 21 Premier League goals (15 goals, six assists) in 2025, making him the first Cherries player to have more than 20 involvements in a calendar year in the competition.

Semenyo, who reportedly has a £65 million ($130.6 million) release clause in his contract, is widely expected to depart the south coast of England club in January, with Manchester City rumoured to be the favourite to land his signature.

"The more games Antoine can play for us, [the better]," Iraola said. "If he can play years for us, it's much better! If it cannot be years, it can be months. If he can only play weeks, it is weeks, but the more time he plays with us, the better for us.

"Antoine's situation is quite clear. Antoine is a massive player for us and, even in games like today where he probably hasn't played well, he is always a threat to score and assist.

"Obviously, I don't want to lose him. This is quite clear, but there are some situations that are not under my control. He will be available to play again in three days [against Chelsea] and then the next one, and I hope he plays a lot more with us.

"I think it is quite easy to analyse today. We arrived 45 minutes late to a Premier League game and, normally when this happens, you are out of the game."