by Staff Writer
Tuesday, 3rd February 2026
West Ham United have ended the January transfer window by completing the temporary signing of French international Axel Disasi.
The 27-year-old centre half, who has been capped on five occasions by France moves from west to east London until the end of the current campaign, effectively replacing Igor Julio, who has returned to Brighton, in Nuno Santo's first team squad.
“I’m very happy to be here, to have this opportunity,” Disasi - the fifth and final signing of the January window - told West Ham's website. “I'm just ready to fight and to play games.
“Everyone knows my situation in the last few months, so I just want to get back on the field, feel the sensation of games and help the team.
“The club has given me the opportunity to show my quality on the pitch. I spoke with all the people here and I felt that they really wanted me, so that's why I'm here today.
“It’s an exciting challenge. We know that the club is not at the place that it should be, but I'm here to help the team and to bring what I can to achieve our goal.”
Born in Gonesse, Val-d'Oise in March 1998, the young Disasi made his professional bow at Paris FC, the capital city's second club, in 2016. But it was at Reims where he began to interest scouts of leading clubs and after four years at Stade Auguste-Delaune, he was on his way to Monaco in a €13million switch.
129 appearances for Les Rouge et Blanc over three years plus a first call-up at full international level saw Disasi's stock rise ever higher and a move to a top tier club looked imminent. In the end it was Chelsea who came calling and The Blues paid a healthy £38.5million (€45million) to bring him to England.
Having failed to nail down a regular first team spot at Stamford Bridge, Disasi joined Aston Villa for the final half of the 2024/25 season making seven appearances for The Villans having rejected interest from West Ham.
But the Hammers finally got their man on the final day of the window, leaving the club's transfer window business as follows.
Ins
£26m: Taty Castellanos (Lazio)
£20m: Pablo Felipe (Gil Vicente)
£2m: Adama Traore (Fulham)
Loan (£1.75m): Axel Disasi (Chelsea, loan)
Loan: Keiber Lamadrid (Deportivo La Guaira)
Total: £49.75million
Outs
£36m: Lucas Paqueta (Flamengo)
£17.5m: Luis Guilherme (Sporting)
£1.5m: Andy Irving (Sparta Prague)
£1m: Guido Rodriguez (Valencia)
Loan: Kaelan Casey (Leyton Orient)
Loan: George Earthy (Bristol City)
Loan: Niclas Fullkrug (AC Milan)
Loan: Callum Marshall (Bochum)
Loan: James Ward-Prowse (Burnley)
Cancelled Loan: Igor Julio (Brighton)
Total: £56million
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