The free transfer mistake Chelsea could be set to make this summerplaceholder image
The free transfer mistake Chelsea could be set to make this summer | Getty Images
Chelsea have been linked with a summer transfer which wouldn’t cost them a penny - but which might still be a mistake.
The January transfer window may have closed for little more than a week, but Premier League sides are already deep into their summer planning – including Chelsea, judging by fresh media reports which suggest that they have set their sights on an intriguing defender who is set to become available on a free transfer.
Sport Witness and Caught Offside are among a number of media outlets covering Chelsea’s alleged interest in Bournemouth defender Marco Senesi, whose contract at the Vitality Stadium is set to expire at the end of June. But would signing Senesi really be the right move for Chelsea – or should they leave the defender to his many other suitors?
Why Chelsea want Marco Senesi – and why he might not be the man they need
Should Chelsea bid for the 28-year-old Senesi, he would become the oldest first-team player that will have signed in around two years, since BlueCo and Clearlake Capital’s very first year in charge of the club. A deal would mark a departure from a firm youth-first policy which has stood since the owners got their feet under the desk – but perhaps that wouldn’t an issue in and of itself.
Chelsea’s defence lacks experience, a fact occasionally made plain despite a strong defensive record. Only three teams have conceded fewer goals, and only Arsenal have kept more clean sheets, but there is improvement work that can be done, and Senesi would offer both quality and some of the veteran nous that has perhaps been required. That doesn’t mean that he would offer all that much of an upgrade.
Putting the Argentine’s underlying statistics side by side with those of Trevoh Chalobah or Wesley Fofana, they are broadly similar – Senesi has made more clearances and tackles and forced more turnovers per game than either, but that’s partly a function of playing for a side which enjoys considerably less possession or territory than Chelsea does.
In areas which can be directly, such as the percentage of tackles made successfully or the one-on-ones won, Senesi actually comes in slightly behind the players Chelsea already have – and has a clear weakness relative to his potential rivals for a position in the air. At a relatively slight 6’0”, Senesi wins less than half of his aerial duels. Compared to Fofana, in particular, that’s something of a concern.
Senesi, in short, would be something of a sideways move in terms of quality, and it’s debatable whether he would add a sufficiently considerable degree of depth. Even if Chelsea ended up moving on from a defender like Tosin Adarabioyo, who has been unable to nail down a starting place at Stamford Bridge, they still have Fofana, Chalobah, Josh Acheampong (who the club seem very keen to keep), Jorrel Hato and Levi Colwill to come back after he recovers from a ruptured ACL.
Senesi is a good defender, but not a significant upgrade – if he is an upgrade at all – on the resources already at Liam Rosenior’s disposal, while his weakness in the air means he would add a point of vulnerability to Chelsea’s defence which they scarcely need. Senesi isn’t a bad player, by any stretch of the imagination. But neither would his arrival represent a step forward towards a squad which could reliably compete for top four places or even titles.
For a side which had a greater need of depth, perhaps a side like Liverpool, a move for Senesi would be eminently sensible, and perhaps one should only quibble so much when a club signs a good player on a free transfer, but even wealthy sides like Chelsea have to balance their wage budget somewhere, and his signing would drag financial resources away from an area upon which they might be better spent.
Will Chelsea sign Senesi this summer?
It’s worth noting that as it stands, Chelsea’s interest in Senesi has only been alleged by various gossip websites and not – just yet – by any of the more reliable media outlets covering the Premier League’s transfer business. That doesn’t mean that the gossip columns are wrong, but it’s yet to be definitively established that Chelsea will make a bid for the Bournemouth man.
That means that there is every chance that an offer never even materialises, but even if they do enter the fray then they will have to fight off considerable competition – depending on who you choose to believe, Senesi’s suitors include everyone from Barcelona and Juventus to Everton and Crystal Palace. As is often the case with high-end free agents, interest is widespread.
Still, the tone of recent reporting suggests that Chelsea could be close to the front of the queue. Sport Witness suggest – via Italian sources – that there is “concrete interest” on their end, while Caught Offside believe that they are “considering” an offer internally.
There’s certainly an understandable view within Stamford Bridge that a new centre-back is a summer priority, especially after Liverpool beat them to the signing of Jérémy Jacquet. Unless they are planning to hold a fire sale of the players presently on the books, however, it’s a little tricky to see how Senesi fits into the picture. He is neither a future prospect, nor a player who is likely to be sold on for a substantial profit, nor a considerable upgrade on the players they already have.
If Senesi did move to Chelsea and it did turn out to be an error, then it wouldn’t be the most dire mistake made by the current regime, and the opportunity cost is at least lower than has been the case with many of the club’s more wayward deals – but perhaps this is a transfer best left to others to scrap over if the club are keen to find ways to make significant improvements.
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