Axel Disasi finally completed his loan move to West Ham United from Chelsea on transfer deadline day.
Disasi had been a transfer target for West Ham throughout the entire January transfer window, but it wasn’t until very late on deadline day that the east London outfit managed to force through a move for the Chelsea centre-back.
Disasi’s West Ham medical was rescheduled ‘many times’ as fans feared the club would fail to bring the Frenchman to the London Stadium at the last hurdle.
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We're closing in on a defender, but is he the right one?! 👀
A graphic showing Axel Disasi being set for a medical at West Ham ahead of a loan move from Chelsea.
Credit: Getty Images/ Harry Murphy – Danehouse
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There was the added complication of AC Milan trying to hijack West Ham’s move to sign Disasi, but the Hammers managed to secure the former Monaco defender’s signature in the end.
Nuno Espirito Santo desperately needed to add another central defender to his ranks before the January transfer window closed.
Max Kilman is nowhere near the level required, while Konstantinos Mavropanos always seems to have a big mistake in him, regardless of how well he has played.
West Ham’s best defender, Jean-Clair Todibo, is now suspended for three games as well, after he received a red card during the 3-2 defeat to Chelsea on Saturday.
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Disasi will be expected to fill in for Todibo during his absence and then partner up with the Frenchman, as West Ham look to string together a run of wins in order to climb out of the relegation zone.
Axel Disasi applauds Chelsea fans
Photo by James Baylis – AMA/Getty Images
However, there is some concern that West Ham signed Disasi out of pure desperation.
Is the Frenchman actually good enough to help the Hammers avoid the drop?
West Ham ignored Axel Disasi’s Chelsea struggles
There is no doubt that the Hammers’ priority was to sign a top-class central defender in the January window.
However, it has to be said that there are real doubts as to whether Disasi fits into that category.
Disasi joined Chelsea from Monaco in the summer of 2023 for just under £40 million.
The Blues were stockpiling players at that time, so the fact that they splashed out that kind of money on a fairly unknown player was nothing new.
West Ham will be wasting their money by signing Disasi in January…😖
What do you think about this move?
Axel Disasi during Wolves v Chelsea FC in the Premier League
Photo by Harry Murphy – Danehouse/Getty Images
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However, the 27-year-old was highly-rated in his homeland, and had already earned five international caps for France.
He was in great form for Monaco the season before he joined Chelsea and seemingly possessed all of the attributes required to succeed in the Premier League.
In spite of that, his time with Chelsea has been extremely underwhelming, and that’s putting it politely.
His poor positioning and decision-making have both been exploited on numerous occasions during his appearances for both Chelsea and Aston Villa.
While Disasi will be a definite upgrade on Kilman and a potential improvement on Mavropanos, there is no guarantee that he will actually improve the Hammers’ defending.
Proof West Ham were not convinced by Axel Disasi but still signed him
There is a real argument to make that Disasi was nothing more than merely a backup option for the Hammers.
That’s because West Ham allegedly made three bids for real Betis central defender Natan Bernardo de Souza.
The last offer for the Brazilian was said to be worth around £34 million, according to Spanish publication ABC.
Now, considering how much David Sullivan loves a bargain, he must have heard great things about Natan from his player recruitment team.
Axel Disasi of Chelsea looks dejected
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
And West Ham pushing so hard to sign Natan for such an extortionate transfer fee is proof that they never really fancied Disasi in the first place.
The Chelsea-owned centre-back didn’t set the world alight during his loan spell with Aston Villa last season.
Meanwhile, the Frenchman hasn’t played a single game for Chelsea since the start of the 2025/26 season.
It’s very clear to see that Disasi was nothing more than an afterthought for West Ham, while they were trying to recruit Natan from Real Betis.
The Hammers hierarchy quite obviously had doubts about the Chelsea centre-back, but chose to sign him regardless.
Hopefully, for their sake, Disasi ends up being a great signing for West Ham, otherwise serious questions need to be asked about the deal.
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