Marcos Senesi: Tottenham have signed Premier League-leading centre-back

Marcos Senesi led Premier League centre-backs in numerous key areas last season, as Tottenham Hotspur make their second signing of the summer.

With Andy Robertson arriving on a free transfer last week, Tottenham have made another big move to bolster their defence.

Following the expiration of his contract with Bournemouth, Argentine international Senesi has signed on the dotted line with Spurs.

The 29-year-old will officially complete his Lilywhites move on 1 July and will be able to settle in straight away, as he's not been included in Argentina's World Cup squad.

So, without needing to spend a single penny on transfer fees, Tottenham have already made some significant upgrades to Roberto De Zerbi's backline.

And whilst Senesi has joined on a free transfer, his 2025-26 numbers suggest that Spurs have just bagged one of the Premier League's very best central defenders.

How good were Marcos Senesi's 2025-26 stats?

Having joined Bournemouth from Dutch giants Feyenoord in the summer of 2022, Senesi has gone on to make 128 appearances in all competitions for the Cherries.

After missing a significant chunk of the 2024-25 season through injury, he certainly made up for lost time in 2025-26.

Senesi started all but one of Bournemouth's 38 Premier League games last term, playing just shy of 3,300 minutes of top-flight football.

As per FotMob, no Premier League centre-back registered more assists (five), played more accurate long balls (182) or created more chances (24) than Senesi did last season.

The same can be said for his big chances created (seven), tackles won (62), interceptions (56) and recoveries made (154) as well as his 418 overall defensive contributions respectively.

Meanwhile, Senesi also ranked in the top 2.2 percentile of his positional rivals for successful crosses (eight), blocked shots (47) and clearances made (253).

On top of all that, the three-cap Argentina international won 196 duels, took 17 shots, completed 1,801 passes and took 2,990 touches respectively.

What did Andoni Iraola say about Senesi?

It's always worth taking a look back at what a player's previous manager(s) have said about them when they move clubs.

Senesi has spent the last three seasons working under Andoni Iraola, who has now left Bournemouth to take on the role as Liverpool's new head coach.

The Spaniard evidently loved having Senesi in his Cherries side too, as he waxed lyrical about the traits he has and qualities he brings to the defence numerous times during his reign there.

"I think Marcos has been very good. He was performing well even before I arrived to the club," Iraola said of Senesi speaking in a December 2025 interview via the Bournemouth Echo.

“I remember some games that I watched from the previous season where he performed really well. And with us, you know what to expect when you put Marcos in the starting lineup.

"On the ball, off the ball, he understands very well also the way we want to play and for us it's very valuable. I don't think it’s a big secret."

This could be perfect for De Zerbi, who could be looking to change systems entirely going into the new season.

With the possibilities to play four or five at the back now, Senesi unlocks many things for Spurs, while being one of the best around, too.