Liverpool’s quest to strengthen for next season should have already begun, and you’d hope that the availability of Marcos Senesi on a free transfer has piqued Liverpool’s interest.
The Reds need some ready-made reinforcements across the pitch.
Club captain and central defender extraordinaire Virgil van Dijk will be 35 and on the back of a World Cup by the time the 2026/27 season starts.
Though he is still of great importance to Liverpool and could play for many years to come, there needs to be a look to the future in the position, both short-term and long-term.
Why Marcos Senesi would complement Liverpool squad
Player Profile: Marcos Senesi
Age 28 (Born May 10, 1997)
Nationality Argentina (3 caps)
Height 184 cm (6’0″)
Preferred Foot Left
Contract Status Free Agent (June 30, 2026)
Senior Appearances 310+ (San Lorenzo, Feyenoord, Bournemouth)
PL Appearances 111 (6 goals, 9 assists)
Stats correct as of April 21, 2026.
Senesi isn’t a replica of Van Dijk, no one is, but there are some similarities in style and circumstance.
In terms of the way he plays, there is a similar willingness and ability to try long, direct passes that skip the midfield in an attempt to find a forward in full stride, but the fact that he’s left-footed adds a different angle.
This would be important when it comes to feeding the wide forward on the left, as the right-footed passers such as Van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold so often found Mo Salah cutting in from the right onto a pass that was arcing inwards.
It once again shows that the considerations when signing a player shouldn’t just be about their own ability in isolation, but how they would improve current players and potential new signings, as Liverpool will also need new additions in those inside forward areas this summer.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, August 19, 2023: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (L) and Bournemouth's Marcos Senesi during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and AFC Bournemouth at Anfield. Liverpool won 3-1. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Senesi is also able to play short and mid-range, line-breaking passes along the ground, and when combined with his ability to step into midfield to play such passes, would give Liverpool a progression they have been missing this season.
He is more adept and effective at this kind of play from deep than the Liverpool midfielders have been this season.
The Athletic: David Ornstein reports Tottenham are in advanced talks to sign Senesi on a free transfer, though the deal is strictly subject to Spurs staying in the Premier League.
You can just see a Senesi pass followed by a Ryan Gravenberch turn opening up the pitch in an instant, or a left-footed pass curling towards the area into the path of Rio Ngumoha.
A career progression similar to Virgil van Dijk
Argentina defender Marcos Senesi (Photo by Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)
Another similarity to Van Dijk is the career path. Sensei has emerged as one of the best centre-backs in the game through each of the clubs he has played for, but he will be relatively late arriving at a Champions League-challenging level of club.
He’s played continental football for San Lorenzo and Feyenoord, as Van Dijk had for Celtic and Southampton, but arrives in the upper echelons at the age of 28, relatively late for a top player, as it was for Van Dijk at 26.
It’s a good kind of progression, though, and a move to a club like Liverpool would feel natural. He is already seasoned enough to step into a starting role.
On a personal level, Senesi would see it as a boost to his chances of featuring more regularly for the Argentine national team. Despite his obvious talent, he has only three senior caps for Argentina.
As his surname suggests, he was also eligible to play for Italy, but opted for his birthplace and made his debut in June 2022. A combination of Italian and Argentine heritage is not a bad combination for an association football defender to have.
He’s rugged defensively, and even though his aerial stats aren’t at the highest, he is up there with the best when it comes to more dogged groundwork and interventions in defence.
Liverpool’s owners might not normally be open to signing a 28-year-old, and it’s often the age at which they start thinking about possibly selling a player, but there are plenty of reasons to sign Senesi, not least the fact that he won’t cost a transfer fee.
Style and relationships: Where Marcos Senesi would fit in at Liverpool
LONDON, ENGLAND - Sunday, November 30, 2025: Liverpool's captain Virgil van Dijk (L) and Ibrahima Konaté applaud the supporters after the FA Premier League match between West Ham United FC and Liverpool FC at the London Stadium. Liverpool won 2-0. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Given that Senesi is a left-sided centre-back, the position currently occupied by Van Dijk, this immediately raises the issue of where he would fit in the current squad and pecking order.
There is always the possibility of moving to a back three, and the signing of Senesi, to go with Van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Jeremy Jacquet, Joe Gomez, and Giovanni Leoni, would make for a great mix of youth, experience, and players in their prime.
It would even allow for a move for Gomez to find regular football elsewhere if the homegrown quota can be addressed in other areas, or a loan for Leoni to recover some match experience and confidence following his injury.
Van Dijk has probably earned a season in the middle of a back three, spraying passes around with ease, heading balls away when they come in his direction, and letting the wide defenders do a bit more of the covering and leg work.
Why Marcos Senesi makes sense: A quick look
• Premier League ready: With 111 appearances in the English top flight, Senesi requires zero adaptation time at Anfield.
• Financial no-brainer: Available on a free transfer this summer, he represents a low-risk, high-reward market opportunity.
• The Slot factor: Having played 49 games under Arne Slot at Feyenoord, he already understands the head coach’s tactical demands.
• Trusted connections: He is well-known to sporting director Richard Hughes, who signed him at Bournemouth.
• Tactical balance: As a natural left-sided CB, he would significantly reduce the heavy physical reliance on Virgil van Dijk.
• International relationship: He boasts an existing relationship with Alexis Mac Allister from the Argentina national team setup.
The captain is still able to turn on the physical afterburners when needed, but a role as a marshall in the middle of the defence would suit him at the age of 35, while he could also be the perfect mentor for Jacquet, who has played across all sides of the centre of defence, including in the middle of a three.
If there were games where Liverpool rotated things and went with a back four, one of Leoni or Konate, plus Senesi, look, on paper, like perfect partnerships.
A good mixture of physical attributes and ability on the ball, and a good balance between left and right.
Adding the ability of Senesi alongside another progressive passer in midfield, such as Adam Wharton, would solve some of the problems Liverpool have had this season and replace what they lost when Trent Alexander-Arnold departed.
Though the innovative right-back was often criticised for his defensive work, this season has been an eye-opener to what he offered in the build-up play and in attack, and how much that style of passing has been missed.
Senesi’s quality in build-up play might even mean they don’t need a Wharton type, and can instead focus on finding a midfielder whose strengths lie predominantly on the defensive side (which isn’t to say Wharton doesn’t have defensive strengths), as, since Fabinho, Liverpool have been lacking one of those.
The Argentine’s age and experience would also allow space for players like Leoni and Jacquet to develop under him.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Friday, August 15, 2025: Bournemouth's Marcos Senesi during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and AFC Bournemouth at Anfield. Liverpool won 4-2. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
This is not the type of signing where there is a risk you might get something different from what is advertised, something Richard Hughes will know from his time at Bournemouth and Arne Slot when the pair worked together at Feyenoord in 2021/22.
Senesi’s talent is there for all to see, and in the right system, he could immediately become one of the best players at the club. He’s already one of the best in the Premier League.
His contract demands will reflect this, but Liverpool, in the position they are, needing to get the next part of the rebuild spot-on, should entertain the possibility of signing such a plug-and-play defender who offers unusual qualities the club are clearly missing.
It all makes sense.