Axel Disasi is set for another loan spell with the Chelsea defender close to joining Premier League rivals Crystal Palace for the upcoming 2026/27 season
Xabi Alonso
Xabi Alonso during a press conference(Image: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
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Chelsea and Crystal Palace are close to reaching an agreement on a season-long loan deal for defender Axel Disasi, sources have told football.london.
The French defender, who signed for the Blues in 2023 from AS Monaco, is set for his third loan spell since moving to Stamford Bridge. Following a short spell at Aston Villa and then West Ham United the following year, Disasi is now on his way to Palace to play under his countryman Pierre Sage.
Disasi has been working at Chelsea's training centre in Cobham this summer but has been away from Xabi Alonso's first-team squad. The defender, alongside the likes of Liam Delap, Nicolas Jackson, Mykhailo Mudryk and others, are in a separate group. Said group is a mixed one, with Chelsea sources keen to stress this is not another 'bomb squad' situation like we have seen in previous seasons.
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Palace have been on the hunt for another central defender following the sale of Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea in a £52million deal earlier in the summer. They have now seemingly got their man, with the versatile Disasi set to join Sage's squad for the upcoming campaign.
Benoit Badiashile completed a medical in Naples on Wednesday ahead of a season-long loan move to Napoli. The Italian side have an option to buy the 25-year-old defender for £23m and, sources say, have paid Chelsea a £2.3m loan fee for his services.
That means Alonso will soon have, following the departures of Disasi and Badiashile, eight central defenders at his disposal. Lacroix, Levi Colwill, Wesley Fofana, Josh Acheampong and Jorrel Hato are all expected to stay at Stamford Bridge for the foreseeable future, but the likes of Aaron Anselmino, Tosin Adarabioyo and Mamadou Sarr could be loaned out or sold before the end of the summer transfer window.
Alonso told a group of reporters during Chelsea's time in Sydney last month that in an ideal world, the Blues would end the summer transfer window with "four or five" central defender options in the first-team squad.
Chelsea want to loan Sarr out, ideally to another Premier League club. The 20-year-old Senegal international has interest from elsewhere in England's top tier, as well as from Real Sociedad and clubs competing in the Europa League and Champions League.
Al-Hilal are also keen on Sarr on a permanent basis but Chelsea would rather a loan move to keep the promising centre back on their books.
Elsewhere, Tosin has interest from Benfica, Sevilla and Marseille, as well as numerous Premier League clubs, with Chelsea keen on selling the 28-year-old defender. The Blues also want to offload Anselmino but on a loan deal for the upcoming season.
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