While Liam Rosenior works to reshape the Chelsea defence, Axel Disasi is currently outperforming every centre-back at Stamford Bridge in a vital department on loan at West Ham.
Axel Disasi may have been in the bomb squad at Chelsea, but that doesn’t mean that his future is over at Stamford Bridge.
His loan deal at West Ham is set to run until the summer with no obligation to buy, so a positive spell could see him work his way back into the reckoning.
Mamadou Sarr has made an immediate impression after returning from his loan spell, plus Levi Colwill will have recovered from his long-term injury come the summer.
But to be fair to Disasi, he’s showing plenty of promise at the London Stadium.
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Axel Disasi trumps Chelsea’s centre-backs for long-ball accuracy
Disasi is currently operating at a 63.6% accurate long-ball rate for West Ham, completing 7 of 11 attempts in his first two Premier League starts.
This metric destroys the season averages of the center-backs Liam Rosenior has at Stamford Bridge. Trevoh Chalobah sits at 38.8%, Wesley Fofana 46.3% and Mamadou Sarr at 60.0% after making his competitive debut against Hull City.
In his first season at Chelsea (2023/24), Axel Disasi maintained an average long-ball accuracy of approximately 44%, so that’s almost a 20% increase at West Ham.
However, the caveat is that it’s only from two games.
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Long-ball accuracy is not so important under Liam Rosenior
Under Liam Rosenior, long-ball accuracy is far from a priority for Chelsea’s center-backs. His tactical blueprint relies on inviting opponents deep into the Chelsea half before bypassing them.
At Strasbourg, Rosenior’s defenders ranked among the lowest in Europe at times for long-range passes, and he has maintained that at Stamford Bridge by using Robert Sanchez as an eleventh outfielder.
The goal is to draw the opposition press closer, sometimes to a risky degree, and then fire a pass into midfield. While Axel Disasi is currently dominating at West Ham with a 63.6% long-ball success rate, that specific skill set is largely redundant in a Chelsea system.
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