Who is Axel Disasi? Chelsea’s ‘marauding’ centre-back who could fill the leadership void

Axel Disasi is big. It’s the first thing you notice. He’s long and wide and leggy, a freight container on stilts, a battering, bruising centre-half in the traditional mould. It looks as though he doesn’t have to try to intercept the ball, that he’s just there, in the way, a one-man goal stopper by virtue of his God-given gifts. Chelsea fans will not easily miss their new signing on the pitch.

Yet size, while it clearly helps his game, is not his greatest strength. He is deftly intelligent in how he carries the ball and picks a pass, and his adeptness for interceptions is the result of similar intellect. He knows how to be in the right place at the right time in the same way Gary Lineker famously did, just at the opposite end of the pitch.

“I’m a defender who likes to properly look for the ball and win it back,” he said after signing. “The best way of anticipating the opposition player’s move is by being in the best position possible.

“I like to have the ball at my feet and play passes. I like interceptions, and I like to be aggressive with the opposition, to use my physicality. I like full-back too because it allows me to play more with the ball. I like to be offensively minded, and I can score goals.”

The numbers back this up. He is in the 96th percentile among all centre-backs in Europe’s top five leagues in the past year for both progressive passes and progressive tackles, yet is in just the 4th percentile for tackles made (0.77) per 90 minutes. While the vast majority of his 12 Monaco goals have come from set-pieces, he has also benefitted from marauding runs which end in the penalty box and one long-range piledriver against Bayer Leverkusen in last season’s Europa League.

Yet perhaps the most significant asset he can bring to west London is leadership. Disasi has been Monaco’s vice-captain since the first season he signed for the club, and wore the armband on 10 occasions last season. He is now the fifth-oldest outfield player in Chelsea’s squad at just 25, and his maturity despite his relative youth could be vital to the balance of Mauricio Pochettino’s young side.

He also taps in to the French core being built at Stamford Bridge. Wesley Fofana, the man he has been signed to replace, is a good friend from the international youth sides, as is Malo Gusto. Christopher Nkunku, the new focal point of the Blues attack, is a teammate from the senior set-up, while Malang Sarr and recent signing Lesley Ugochukwu are also both French. Thiago Silva, who will be expected to offer both guidance and competition as Disasi transitions to the Premier League, is also fluent in French after his time with Paris Saint-Germain.

Yet his most important compatriot-cum-teammate may well be Benoit Badiashile. The left foot to Disasi’s right, the pair established an effective partnership at Monaco before Badiashile’s January move. Each’s strengths directly embellish the others, while also compensating for their few shortcomings. Allowing the pair to be reunited on the pitch may well help Disasi to assimilate to Premier League life as soon as possible, while also developing a potentially foundational partnership for Chelsea.

The most obvious losers were this to happen are Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah. Colwill has just signed a six-year deal with the club and they have risked their deal for Moises Caicedo to hold on to the academy starlet, so it is most likely he shares the left centre-back spot with Badiashile. Yet Chalobah, a player whose constant links elsewhere bely his exceptional on-field consistency and adaptability, may well finally be forced out by a similar yet slightly better player.

And while Disasi’s signing may be viewed as a necessity after Fofana’s long-term injury, once the former Leicester player returns, with seven-year contract to honour and a prodigious potential to realise, the competition could turn ugly. The great success of the early months of Pochettino’s tenure has been the reemergence of “good vibes”, yet the novice egos of Colwill, Fofana, Disasi and Badiashile battling for two spots could damage all of them. How Pochettino manages this, alongside how he handles Silva and Chalobah’s playing prospects, could determine the fate of this Chelsea side. Signing Disasi was not part of the plan two months ago.

Yet this may well be a risk worth taking. Virgil van Dijk, Ruben Dias, William Saliba and Lisandro Martinez have highlighted the transformative power of a great centre-half among Chelsea’s Premier League peers, and Disasi could have an impact on that level in Fofana’s absence. Thomas Tuchel realised Silva was no longer capable of marshalling a back four two years ago, which hailed the entrance of the 3-4-3 formation which won Chelsea the 2021 Champions League.

Pochettino is steadfast in his commitment to 4-2-3-1, which may well signal the end of Silva as a key presence in the Blues’ defence. Chalobah has risen to whatever task has been asked of him thus far, but is simply an inferior player to Disasi. The Frenchman’s arrival should allow him to take definitive ownership of the club’s right centre-back spot, which could in turn help Pochettino lead Chelsea back into Europe. Disasi could be big in more ways than one.