Axel Disasi is finally a West Ham United player.
Somehow or another, West Ham signed Disasi on loan from Chelsea on Deadline Day, many hours after the 2026 January transfer window had officially shut.
Disasi has joined West Ham on what is believed to be a straight loan deal with neither an option nor obligation to buy at the end of the season.
The move looked complicated, to say the least. Disasi’s West Ham medical was rescheduled several times as talks over personal terms dragged on.
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I'm not going to lie, I'm underwhelmed…
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Still, what’s done is done and the deal is now over the line. The 27-year-old could be in line to make his Hammers debut against Burnley on Saturday, too.
Speaking during his first interview as a West Ham player, the former Monaco defender revealed that Soungoutou Magassa urged him to join the club.
Axel Disasi confirms that Soungoutou Magassa told him to sign for West Ham
Magassa is only reasonably new to the club himself, having joined the Hammers from Monaco back in August.
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Still, the midfielder worked alongside Disasi at Monaco prior to the defender moving to Chelsea in the summer of 2023.
Talking to West Ham’s official website, Disasi revealed that the midfielder had urged him to join.
We all love the club to bits, but let’s be real – what would you have to tell a new signing to convince them to join?! 😔
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“I also know Soungoutou Magassa,” he said. “I saw him start in Monaco as a professional, so I’m happy to see him, and I’m sure that we’ll get the confidence all together on the pitch.
“He [Magassa] just told me to sign. Even this summer when he signed [for West Ham], I sent him a message saying, ‘Congratulations, but now this is the Premier League, so you have to be ready’.
“I spoke with him this week. I think he’s happy as well, so it’s nice.”
Disasi also revealed that he’s already got a good relationship with Alphonse Areola and Jean-Clair Todibo after being in French international squads with the pair.
“I know them from the national team, so I’m very happy to see them back here.”
How many times Soungoutou Magassa and Axel Disasi have played together
Disasi is five years older than Magassa and left Monaco not long after the midfielder made his senior debut in 2022.
Still, they did actually make three appearances together for Monaco, for a combined total of 170 minutes. Monaco drew two of those games and lost the other.
Soungoutou Magassa during West Ham United v Fulham - Premier League
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The West Ham loanee has never played alongside Areola, though they were both part of the France squad who reached the 2022 World Cup final.
He has never played with Todibo at senior level, either.
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