West Ham’s transfer window was chaotic, to say the least.
Long-serving stalwarts like Michail Antonio, Aaron Cresswell, and Vladimir Coufal departed, Mohamed Kudus sealed a shock move to Spurs, while Nayef Aguerd went to Marseille.
In came fresh faces: Callum Wilson, Kyle Walker-Peters, Mateus Fernandes, Soungoutou Magassa, and deadline-day signing Igor Julio from Brighton.
But the Hammers could easily have added another high-profile name to that list.
Chelsea’s Axel Disasi was strongly linked with a deadline day move to the London Stadium, reportedly even in talks about the switch — but he chose to say no.
Disasi Explains Why He Snubbed West Ham
Axel Disasi. (REUTERS/Jaimi Joy)
Axel Disasi. (REUTERS/Jaimi Joy)
Speaking to French outlet La Media Carre, Disasi, who spent the second half of last season on-loan with Aston Villa, admitted he rejected West Ham because of emotional ties to his old club AS Monaco.
“In the period between the approaches from Bournemouth and West Ham, Monaco arrived and that hit me emotionally,” he said. “I had three incredible years at Monaco. When they came in, all the memories came back. Monaco is home.”
The Frenchman added: “I hoped that Chelsea would find a solution to allow me to leave on loan. I pushed until the last minute to go to Monaco.”
In hindsight, turning down West Ham may have been a misstep.
At the London Stadium, Disasi, once described as “brilliant” by Jamie Carragher, would almost certainly have been a guaranteed starter under Graham Potter, with the Hammers conceding 11 goals in their opening three matches before finally tightening up against Nottingham Forest.
Instead, the defender has been left out of Chelsea’s Premier League and Champions League squads, meaning he’s unlikely to play any meaningful football until at least January.
Sometimes loyalty pulls at the heartstrings — but for Disasi, this one looks like a decision that backfired.