Bournemouth must finalise Marcos Senesi deal as amazing stats revealed
Bournemouth have to make a clear decision on Marcos Senesi’s future at the club after a new stat emerged around his start to the Premier League season.
Marcos Senesi joined Bournemouth from Feyenoord in 2019, and he was a regular at the heart of their defence in his first two seasons on the south-coast.
Andoni Iraola‘s arrival saw Senesi pushed down the pecking order last term, with Dean Huijsen and Illia Zabarnyi both becoming his first-choice centre-backs, yet that pair left in the summer after they each shone for the Cherries in 2024-25.
Senesi was linked with a move to Real Sociedad and Villarreal in the summer amid a major exodus from the Vitality Stadium, but he did not move away and has been heavily trusted by his Basque boss so far this term.
The Argentine defender’s Bournemouth contract is set to expire at the end of this season, and it is pretty clear what the club should be prioritising based off some stats that he leads across the Premier League right now.
Senesi leads the Premier League in forward passes this season
According to statistical gurus WhoScored, Senesi has played the most forward passes (215) of any player in the Premier League this season.
That is a pretty impressive stat, considering his position and team he plays for, and it proves that he has been one of the top-flight’s best centre-backs up to now, with the Cherries also sat fourth in the table and boasting the third-least xG conceded (6.3) of every team so far [Fotmob].
Senesi also leads Premier League defenders in terms of interceptions this season (13), while Virgil van Dijk (61) is the only player who has made more clearances than the Argentinian (57), so he has not only been brilliant at progressing the ball.
He also leads outfield PL players for long-range passes up to now in 2025-26, while FBref has him second out of all outfield players for progressive passing distance in yards, with 3495 to Van Dijk’s 3744.
What Andoni Iraola has said about Senesi’s contract amid strong Bournemouth form
Senesi has been mightily important to Bournemouth’s great early-season form, with two assists in his seven league starts so far too, but fans will be concerned at his current contract situation.
The Bournemouth Echo reported back in July that the club had opened talks with Senesi about a new deal, but nothing has materialised as yet, and he is set to leave for free next summer if nothing changes.
Cherries boss Iraola recently spoke publicly about the 28-year-old’s situation, and he admitted that he was unsure about any ongoing talks over fresh terms, but praised Senesi for his impressive form.
He said: “I have no idea [about contract talks]. I suppose they are going to talk but I don’t know. What matters to me most is that he continues playing like this.
“I think he has been playing very, very well [in] all the games since the beginning of the season and I hope we can have him at this level because he’s very valuable for us. I think Marcos has been important because in a defence with obviously a lot of changes from past season, he has been the one who has had to lead a little bit, the newcomers.
“He also speaks English very well. Spanish with Julio [Soler], with Alex Jimenez, he’s able to communicate with everyone and he’s very smart player. We can see the way he plays. He always try to anticipate the play and he’s the same outside of the pitch, and I hope we can keep him there and playing like this.”
The Argentine defender is clearly very highly-rated by his head-coach, and Bournemouth very obviously need to get him tied down to a new contract before other teams begin to take notice and want him to join them for free next summer.