Tottenham Hotspur just about survived in the Premier League under Roberto De Zerbi, but if they are to thrive, there has to be an overhaul of the playing squad, and Marcos Senesi certainly fits the bill.
Following hot on the heels of Liverpool’s Andy Robertson, whose own move to north London was confirmed last week, Senesi will become Tottenham’s second signing of the summer upon the expiry of his contract with Bournemouth on July 1.
After an outstanding season on the South Coast, helping Bournemouth to a sixth-placed finish and qualification for the Europa League, the 29-year-old was highly coveted around the Premier League and Europe as a free agent. Tottenham’s ability to jump ahead of the competition, despite their worst season since the 1970s, reflects well on their standing and prestige, as well as the hierarchy’s ability to secure a prized talent in a testing market.
It’s a deal Tottenham were working on while their future was up in the air. The Athletic reported that Spurs were leading the race to sign Senesi in mid-April, while they were sitting two points adrift of West Ham United in 18th place, having identified him as a summer target well before De Zerbi joined Spurs on March 31. But given how Senesi plays and De Zerbi’s preference for a free-flowing, possession-based style, it appears a very good match.
Senesi was a mainstay under Andoni Iraola last season, after being reduced to a squad role the previous term due to the signing and emergence of Dean Huijsen, who moved to Real Madrid last summer. And despite the loss of Milos Kerkez and Illia Zabarnyi, who left for Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain, respectively, in the same summer as Huijsen departed, Bournemouth remained resolute, and perhaps even improved in building play through the thirds. For that, Senesi was arguably the main contributor.
The Argentinian averaged 14.2 passes into the attacking third per 90 minutes last season, the highest among centre-backs playing in Europe’s top-five leagues, and also led the way for successful long passes. And while Iraola’s system meant he often went long to push the opposition line back, he frequently demonstrated an elite-level ability to wrap passes into midfielders and forwards on the ground.
Here’s one example of Senesi finding striker Enes Unal through a small gap with an accurate zipped pass along the floor, leading to one of the five assists he recorded in 37 league matches last term.
Had Eli Junior Kroupi timed his run better, this would have been another.
He drops a beautifully curled pass through and behind Aston Villa’s defensive line and into the path of Kroupi, who finishes smartly over Emiliano Martinez, but the Frenchman was called offside.
With Cristian Romero’s future up in the air, Tottenham may not otherwise have a central defender with the vision and ability to find team-mates in tight spaces and change the tempo of the attack, so Senesi’s ball-playing qualities could prove integral to De Zerbi’s efforts to develop their progression through the thirds.
As the graphic below demonstrates, Senesi looks to play through the middle of the pitch and fizz passes into attacking players at various angles, something Tottenham sorely lacked at an elite level from the defensive line last season when Romero was injured or suspended.
But he’s not a player whose only instinct is to get rid of the ball; he dribbles through pressure as well as he passes through it.
Here’s an example of Senesi winning an aerial duel, before carrying the ball out of his team’s penalty box and earning a free-kick.
And perhaps his most impressive assist of the season, evading a challenge before dribbling through the Leeds United midfield and sliding a perfect pass into Kroupi’s stride, who scores the opening goal of their 2-2 draw in April.
Senesi often found himself around the halfway line at Bournemouth last season, and whether it was a tactical direction by Iraola to step up and follow markers into midfield or a natural eagerness to win the ball higher up the pitch on first contact, it suited his game well.
Senesi is not the most physically imposing central defender and does not have a sharp turn of pace, so he was occasionally exposed by quicker forwards who beat the Argentinian to the ball and span behind him, but given Van de Ven’s tendency to sweep and let his partner provide the initial pressure, their defensive inclinations appear to be compatible.
There are still question marks about Senesi alongside Van de Ven, though. Like Spurs’ vice-captain, Senesi is a left-footed centre-back who prefers to play on the left side of central defence, which, considering De Zerbi has labelled Van de Ven the best left-sided centre-back in the Premier League, does not bode well for Senesi’s integration into the starting line-up.
The simple solution is to move Senesi to the right, but that’s not so straightforward. Senesi’s standout qualities are in possession, and playing from the right side would naturally require him to use his weaker foot more often, potentially leaving him open as an effective trigger for the opposition press. It would also eliminate the passing angles from the left side, which often led to the first crucial pass in Bournemouth’s attack.
With there being a chance Romero departs this summer, Tottenham are already in the market for a right-footed centre-back, having made two bids for Brighton’s Jan Paul van Hecke. Spurs also have Kevin Danso, Radu Dragusin and Luka Vuskovic as senior defenders on their books.
To squeeze Senesi into the starting line-up, De Zerbi may be prompted into a system change.
Left-back was a problem position for much of last season at Tottenham due to Destiny Udogie’s patchy injury record, leaving Djed Spence to fill in slightly awkwardly as a right-footed alternative. Andy Robertson will join Senesi in north London when his Liverpool contract expires, strengthening Spurs’ depth chart in that position, but his form has been inconsistent for multiple seasons at Anfield, and he may not be in the physical condition, aged 32, to play every week.
Perhaps, then, it makes sense to play Van de Ven, who has played as a more traditional left-back for the Netherlands, as a left-sided defender in a three, allowing him to make the most of his carrying ability without losing his important recovery pace.
It’s a system Pep Guardiola often used at Manchester City (though it was rarely recorded that way), allowing one of his full-backs, typically Nico O’Reilly last term, to push ahead and provide build-up and final-third contributions from the wing or central areas. Pedro Porro, who was used similarly in De Zerbi’s final weeks, would be an ideal candidate to do that from the right.
But whatever combination De Zerbi chooses, Senesi appears to be a perfect candidate to execute the coach’s plan. After an embarrassing couple of league seasons, it marks the start of Tottenham acting like a serious European contender again.