Antonio Silva looks to be top of Marco Rose's wishlist of Centre Backs to replace Marcos Senesi at AFC Bournemouth, but does he have the qualities and experience to be a like for like replacement for the Argentinian International?
After the official confirmation of Alvaro Rodriguez signing for AFC Bournemouth yesterday, all focus looks to have now shifted on to the left centre back position, which is a position where investment is needed to fill in the gap that Marcos Senesi has left.
In the last 48 hours, rumours are suggesting that a deal for Antonio Silva is close to being completed, with the 22 year old already agreeing personal terms with the club.
The Portuguese international has represented his country a staggering 20 times despite still being in his early twenties, and captained Benfica to an invincible season last campaign, finishing 3rd in Liga Portugal under Jose Mourinho.
Although Silva is right footed, he played on the left side of the 2 Centre Backs alongside Tomas Araujo, with the pair of them only conceding 25 goals in 34 league games in 2025/26.
Seeing as Cherries will be playing in their first European campaign ever this season, losing a player like Senesi with his European experience was a huge blow, but Silva has this in abundance. He has played 33 games in the Champions League in his 4 professional years at Benfica, after making the step up from their academy program in the 22/23 season.
This shows that Silva has the much valuable experience in defence of being a regular in top European competitions, similar to Adrien Truffert and Bafode Diakite as well.
Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn ImagesWhen compared directly to Senesi, Silva is 3cm taller than Marcos, and is best known amongst Benfica and Portugal fans for his elite passing range, smart tackling and physical aerial ability. If you were to look at Marcos Senesi's game, these 3 factors would be a stand-out 3 strengths of his too.
Furthermore, if you are a believer of superstition of any sorts, the last player that AFCB signed that played under Jose Mourinho, and was subject to a lot of praise off one of footballs all time great managers, was Spanish International Dean Huijsen, who was arguably the most talented defender seen wear red and black at Dean Court.
Being made captain of such a prestigious club by a manager like Mourinho at such a young age, only receiving 6 yellow cards all season with no red cards shows that Silva has a very mature playstyle and temperament, which are all incredibly useful traits to have in the Premier League.
Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn ImagesWith AFCB now set to have 2 left sided centre backs that are young and will be keen to impress Marco Rose (Silva & Milosavljevic), it will encourage positive competition, as Milo has shown that he is more than capable of playing Premier League football for Cherries.
