Tottenham Hotspur have completed the signing of Bournemouth defender Marcos Senesi on a free transfer.
As The Athletic reported last month, Senesi has signed a four-year deal with the north London club after his contract and will officially join on July 1 when his Bournemouth terms expire.
“From the first moment, the club has shown why they want me and how much they want me to be a part of what they are building,” Senesi said, via the club website. “It’s exciting and something I can’t wait to be involved in.”
The Athletic reported in April that Roberto De Zerbi’s side were leading contenders for his signature, subject to maintaining their Premier League status, and had entered into advanced talks with the Argentinian.
Spurs avoided relegation from the Premier League on the final day of the campaign, beating Everton 1-0 to ensure they finished two points above West Ham United in 18th.
Senesi, 29, played in all but one of Bournemouth’s Premier League games this season, as Andoni Iraola’s side qualified for Europa League for the first time in their history. Iraola, however, confirmed he was leaving at the end of the 2025-26 campaign in April.
Senesi joined Bournemouth in 2022 and made 128 appearances across the four seasons, registering six goals and ten assists.
He played in two friendlies for Argentina over the course of the 2025-26 campaign and was named in Lionel Scaloni’s long list for the World Cup, but did not make the final squad for this summer’s tournament.
Spurs are also in pole position to add Andy Robertson to their back line on a free transfer when the left-back’s Liverpool contract expires, also aided by their Premier League survival.
What does this mean for Cristian Romero and others?
Senesi’s arrival means that Spurs will have six senior centre-backs if you include Luka Vuskovic, who spent the 2025-26 season on loan with Hamburg in Germany.
Senesi will provide cover and competition for Micky van de Ven on the left side of defence. Van de Ven’s biggest strengths are his remarkable recovery speed and powerful surging runs, whereas Senesi is excellent at playing line-breaking passes. Head coach Roberto De Zerbi can pick and choose which profile is best depending on the opposition, or pair them together.
Spurs have struggled with injuries over the last few years and it makes sense to have a natural alternative to Van de Ven, but they do not need six centre-backs — especially after failing to qualify for European competition next season.
The Athletic reported at the beginning of June that there is a strong chance captain Cristian Romero will be sold this summer. The Argentina international has criticised the club’s hierarchy in social media posts on multiple occasions and has missed lots of games for Spurs since he joined them in 2021 due to injuries and suspensions. There is also uncertainty over the future of Radu Dragusin but Kevin Danso stood out with his solid performances at the end of the season.
There have been discussions about Vuskovic signing a new contract with Spurs but he will wait until after the World Cup before deciding his next steps.
In an open letter to supporters on Monday, non-executive chairman Peter Charrington pledged to build a squad “with the right blend of experience, youth and leadership.” Charrington added that “we will invest across multiple transfer windows to rebuild, balance and strengthen, with this summer representing an important first step in that work.”
It is going to take a long time for the supporters to trust Charrington, chief executive officer Vinai Venkatesham and sporting director Johan Lange again after a dreadful season but signing Senesi suggests things are heading in the right direction.
‘Senesi could prove crucial to De Zerbi system’
Analysis by tactics writer Anantaajith Raghuraman
Senesi’s biggest strength is his ability to progress play with accurate long passes. No player with 900 or more minutes managed more than his 14.2 passes into the attacking third per 90 in the Premier League in 2025-26.
The 29-year-old rarely takes the risk-averse option, an attribute Spurs will value after struggling to move the ball quickly between the thirds in 2025-26. Senesi’s comfort under pressure before passing could prove crucial for De Zerbi’s press-baiting system to work.
His composure in possession is matched by aggression without it. In Andoni Iraola’s man-marking system, Senesi was front-footed and never afraid to follow centre-forwards all over the pitch, which is beneficial to counter pressing but can be manipulated by good teams. He is strong in the air, winning 48 per cent of his aerial duels, and is a good anticipator of crosses too.
Given he arrives on a free transfer, Spurs stand to gain plenty of value from Senesi’s attributes with and without the ball.
Do Spurs have money to spend this summer?
Tottenham do not need to worry too much about financial rules, at least. Tottenham’s overall wages-to-revenue ratio was just 45 per cent in the 2024-25 season and has consistently been one of the lowest figures in the Premier League. Their overall wages and transfer fee amortisation to revenue ratio for the same period was 70 per cent combined. Under squad cost ratio (SCR) rules, you can remove the wages of non-playing staff and include player sale profits, so the actual figure would be even lower.
Spurs’ failure to qualify for Europe means they are only required to be at 85 per cent for SCR instead of UEFA’s limit of 70 per cent. Put it all together, and Spurs have no real regulatory worries, but then that’s been true for a while.
Instead, as previously detailed by The Athletic, Spurs’ recent concerns have been cash-based. Big operating costs (which are excluded from SCR calculations) and hefty transfer debts have seen the club’s liquidity tighten, and ENIC has been required to depart from the first 20 years of its ownership by starting to inject significant sums. Spurs’ transfer debt at the end of June 2025 was £243million, and a further £159m (net) was spent last summer, though the Johnson sale reduced that for the season.
Rules are little worry, but without recouping money on sales, Spurs would need to lean on extra funding to spend big — especially now the roughly £74million they made in Champions League prize money this season won’t be repeated.