Senesi has agreed to join Tottenham, but only if Spurs stay up
Marcos Senesi has, in essence, picked Tottenham. The Argentine centre-back has reached an agreement in principle with the club over a free transfer this summer, with his Bournemouth contract running out in June. There is a catch the size of a relegation play-off attached to the deal: Spurs have to be a Premier League side when the window opens.
That is not the formality it would have been six months ago. Tottenham sit 18th, on 34 points, two adrift of West Ham in 17th and four games out from the end of the season. Roberto De Zerbi, appointed at the end of March after Igor Tudor was sacked from a side picking up one point in five, finally got his first league win in charge at Wolves on Saturday. Joao Palhinha's 82nd-minute winner ended a 15-match Premier League run without a victory, but West Ham beat Everton 2-1 the same afternoon to keep the gap at two and Spurs in the bottom three.
A free transfer with a relegation clause
Senesi's camp has made it clear, according to the reports out of London this week, that he does not want to play in the Championship. The 28-year-old has been one of Bournemouth's best defenders since arriving from Feyenoord in 2022 and has spent the last four seasons at Premier League level. Barcelona and Liverpool both checked on him earlier in the year, with Manchester United also keeping tabs, before the Tottenham agreement was reached. Stay up, and he reports to Hotspur Way in July. Go down, and the agreement effectively voids itself.
That is a strange place for a buying club to be, even on a free. Spurs are not in a position to finalise terms on any of their summer targets until the league position is mathematically settled. Tottenham's hierarchy can have all the agreements in principle they want; nothing gets signed off in writing while the team is in the bottom three.
What happens if it falls through
Liverpool and Manchester United are watching. Both clubs have been in the picture for Senesi for months, and both would step in if Tottenham's relegation freed him from his half-promise. Liverpool would view him as cover and competition for Virgil van Dijk, who turns 35 in July. United, mid-rebuild and chasing a Champions League return, have been linked with the kind of left-sided centre-back profile Senesi fits.
Senesi himself is the cleaner part of this story. He has been a regular for Bournemouth across all competitions this season, with Andoni Iraola's side still in mid-table. By June, with his contract expired, he will be a free agent, and one of the most attractive ones on the market for a centre-back. He will also be heading into a World Cup year with Argentina, where Lionel Scaloni's side are defending their 2022 title.
Tottenham's next match is away to Aston Villa next Sunday. Three games to go after that, two points to make up on West Ham, and a defender on the other end of the line waiting to see what happens. Senesi's summer is now part of the relegation story.
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