Everton target Marcos Senesi’s leadership qualities were underlined on Saturday as he captained the Cherries.
The Argentine defender has been in the gossip columns recently, with his contract winding down at the Vitality Stadium.
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Ross Sykes playing in the Champions League for Union SG against Atletico Madrid.
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The South American is attracting plenty of interest heading into the summer as a result of his soon-to-be free agent status.
Having shown great consistency for Bournemouth in recent years, there is sure to be a big fight for Senesi this summer, as clubs – including Everton – look to snag themselves a bargain.
Marcos Senesi captains Bournemouth to Premier League clean sheet as Everton lurk
West Ham United v Bournemouth - Premier League
Photo by Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images
Senesi – who Everton are tracking ahead of the summer – has a lot of admirable qualities that make him appealing.
The star is nice and calm on the ball, and aggressive in the duels when he needs to be.
He also carries decent output at the other end of the pitch, having scored six goals and made nine assists in 117 games for the Cherries.
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But there is also some added appeal with Senesi in that he is a leader – and on Saturday, he was handed the captain’s armband by Andoni Iraola for Bournemouth’s game with West Ham United.
And he played his part in a clean sheet for the Cherries, delivering a 7/10 display in the eyes of the Bournemouth Echo, which said of him: “Senesi skippered the side and helped them to a clean sheet.
“One moment where he gave the ball away cheaply and conceded a chance that would have reflected poorly on him had West Ham scored.”
It is actually not the first time Senesi has worn the armband. He did so for his previous club Feyenoord in a game against Slavia Praha in the Europa League.
Everton can’t have enough leaders
Everton need great players first and foremost, but you can never have too many leaders in a football squad.
Clearly, Senesi is someone who is a leader as his wearing of the captain’s armband on Saturday showed, and this is bound to increase his appeal – not just for Everton, but for other clubs too.
Frustratingly, it was reported earlier this week that Senesi’s head had been turned by Barcelona.
Marcos Senesi wears the captain's armband for Bournemouth.
Photo by Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
But there’s a long way to go yet until the summer rolls around any anything could happen behind the scenes.
Ultimately Everton have the lure of the new stadium, and are an established Premier League outfit with ambitions of playing in Europe – which could even still be realised in a few months’ time.
There is also the notion that Bournemouth handing him the armband actually gets him to consider extending.
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