Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has moved to cool talk of Axel Disasi’s reintegration into the first-team squad after the defender’s surprise appearance in senior training during the November international break. The 27-year-old was involved in a session with the main group at Cobham this week, prompting speculation that his long-running exile from the senior setup could be ending.
Disasi slipped down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge in January and spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa. He featured in both the Premier League and Champions League before returning to Chelsea in the summer.
The French centre-back is yet to make a competitive senior appearance for the world champions this season after a permanent move failed to materialise during the last transfer window. Asked at his pre-Burnley press conference on Friday whether Disasi could now come back into contention, Maresca stressed that the defender’s status has not changed:
“I said many times that Axel and Raheem [Sterling] are Chelsea players. Axel is helping the second team, he’s helping the younger players. During the international break we had just five, six players here, so we need some second team players.
“And Axel was part of some session with second team players, but I think it was just one session with us.”
“Second Team” Disasi Could Leave Chelsea in January
Maresca went on to underline that Disasi remains aligned with the club’s development group rather than the senior squad. He added:
“At the moment he’s helping second team, he’s working with second team and he’s there with second team.”
Those remarks reaffirm that the France international continues to train primarily with the so-called “second team” group, which has also included Raheem Sterling this season.
Disasi recently started for Chelsea’s Under-21s in Premier League 2, with his professionalism and influence on younger players said to have been well received by staff.
English reports have linked the former Monaco defender with a possible January exit, with interest from elsewhere in Europe after 61 appearances for Chelsea and five caps for France. For now, Maresca’s comments indicate that any route back into the first team will depend on circumstances rather than on one brief training cameo.