Xabi Alonso_v6
The Axel Disasi loan transfer saga has taken another turn, and frankly it’s one that reflects poorly on Chelsea‘s planning. TalkSPORT reports that the 28-year-old French centre-back is closing in on a season-long loan move to Crystal Palace, with both clubs reportedly reaching a verbal agreement over the deal. No option to buy is included.
Disasi hasn’t featured for Chelsea since January 2025. That’s nearly 20 months on the outside. This week, the club removed his number 2 shirt and handed it straight to new signing Marco Palestra, leaving Disasi without a squad number under Xabi Alonso. It’s a brutal but clear message.
Crystal Palace are targeting him to plug a significant hole at the back. They sold Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea for £52 million this summer, and Marc Guehi left for Manchester City earlier in the window. Tomiyasu and Mingueza have already arrived at Selhurst Park, but another centre-back was clearly needed.
For Disasi, this will be his third consecutive loan in English football. He had 10 appearances at Aston Villa before joining West Ham in January 2026, where he started all 17 of his league games. Six clean sheets, 88 clearances, 439 passes at 87% accuracy. Solid numbers in a bad team. West Ham went down anyway. AC Milan and Roma noticed him despite that, which tells you his stock hasn’t completely collapsed.
The honest opinion:
This Axel Disasi loan transfer is damage control dressed up as a football decision. Alonso is right to move him on. That part isn’t complicated. Disasi’s defensive profile is built for sitting deep and clearing lines, evidenced directly by those 88 clearances at West Ham. That’s a low-block defender. Alonso doesn’t want low-block defenders. His system needs pace, press-resistance, and the ability to carry the ball out from the back. Disasi can’t offer that.
Replacing him with Lacroix at £52 million is a genuine tactical upgrade, no question. But here’s the problem nobody at the club seem willing to address clearly. Chelsea paid £38.5 million for Disasi in 2023. Three consecutive Premier League loans, no permanent sale, no buy clause.
By the time this loan ends in summer 2027, they’ll be selling a 29-year-old with a depreciated value off a relegated side’s loan spell. The asset is melting. Whoever signed off on three consecutive loans without forcing through a permanent exit has made Chelsea’s financial position worse, not better.
For Palace, it’s a smart opportunistic grab, a motivated international defender, free of cost beyond wages, covering the exact gap Lacroix left behind. For Chelsea, this Axel Disasi loan transfer is just another year of kicking the problem forward.