The Bournemouth backline was butchered over the summer. That’s the price you pay for success.
Kepa returned to Chelsea following his loan spell, and subsequently made a £5m move to Arsenal. Milos Kerkez joined Liverpool. Key centre-backs Illia Zabarnyi and Dean Huijsen departed for PSG and Real Madrid, respectively. It left Marcos Senesi to hold down the fort.
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The Argentine is the surviving member of the mass south coast exodus. In a summer of wholesale changes, however, Senesi has taken the changes in defence in his stride. That’s not to say the Cherries are out-performing their impressive 2024-25 campaign. Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Chelsea extended their winless run to six matches. They’ve won only two of their last 11 league outings.
Senesi deserving of praise
However, after losing key players at the back, a downturn in form was to be expected. As the new signings settle, it’ll take some time for Bournemouth to showcase the same consistency they managed last season. Arguably, the sole consistency has been the continuation of Senesi’s defensive showings.
The departures of both Zabarnyi and Huijsen did hurt Bournemouth. Conversely, their respective exits has seen Senesi earn the plaudits he so rightly deserves. Rather, the sale of the pair benefitted Senesi, who had lost his starting centre-back spot following a spell on the sidelines.
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Now he’s considered one of the division’s most dependable defenders. This was of particular importance following Bournemouth’s sweeping alterations at the back. Djordje Petrovic is an upgrade on Kepa between the sticks. Bafode Diakite, Adrien Truffert and Alex Jimenez were inexperienced additions to the defence.
Senesi, though, has stepped up to the leadership role with ease. Bournemouth have still conceded 24 goals. And yet few gave them a snowball’s chance in hell of beating the drop after a summer of change. Much of that is due to Senesi frequently putting in expert shifts at the heart of the defence.
Bournemouth defender shining on and off the ball
The centre-back’s knack for being in the right place at the right time to alleviate pressure on the Bournemouth goal is vital. Only Virgil van Dijk (132) has made more clearances than Senesi (109) in the Premier League this season. It means Bournemouth have at least remained competitive in recent league outings.
In addition, though, Senesi is displaying the fine reading of the game that enables Bournemouth to quickly transition from defence to attack. The Cherries rank eighth for possession (52.3%) in the Premier League this season, yet have scored the joint-most counter-attacking goals (6).
As such, they can’t continuously sit deep and aimlessly thump the ball away from danger. Doing so will just invite further pressure on the Bournemouth goal. As such, Senesi’s impressive reading of the game comes to the fore. Only Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo (27) has made more interceptions than Senesi (24) in the Premier League this season.
What’s more, only Joachim Andersen (83) has made more accurate long balls than the Cherries man (77) in the 2025-26 Premier League campaign. Senesi is so key to the way Bournemouth operate both on and off the ball. He’s able to cut out opposition attacking threats before launching the ball forward for the attackers to maximise.
Cherries utilising counter-attacking threat
When you’ve got a forward of Antoine Semenyo’s calibre operating out wide, then it’s not a shock that the distributors look to unleash the Ghanaian at a moment’s notice. The 25-year-old has scored the joint-most counter-attacking goals (3) in the division after all.
There is so much more to Senesi’s game than just putting his body on the line, and now that Zabarnyi and Huijsen are no longer at the club, praise has been forthcoming. It’s unlikely to lead to a high-profile move, but he did at least return to the Argentina squad for their November meeting with Angola. Ask any Bournemouth fan – international recognition for the first time since 2022 is richly deserved.
Bournemouth, then, will be hoping the injury he sustained against Chelsea isn’t serious. “He felt cramps. He didn’t feel anything specific, and I have some hope. When we assess him, we will probably have to do an MRI or something to see if there is a small injury in the quad,” Iraola said after Saturday’s stalemate.
The south coast side can ill-afford to be without their defensive lynchpin for any longer than necessary. It hasn’t been a particularly memorable campaign to date for Bournemouth. Yet Senesi is doing all he can to ensure the Cherries can match last season’s exploits. Few can ask for more after Bournemouth’s defensive switches.