West Ham are currently six points behind Leeds United in the Premier League.
Leeds United’s relegation rivals West Ham secured an important loan arrival on deadline day with defender Axel Disasi confident he can lead them away from Premier League relegation.
The French international joined the Hammers from Chelsea until the summer, having not played a competitive game since April 2025 and been part of the so called ‘Bomb Squad’ at Stamford Bridge. According to the Guardian, Disasi took some convincing to make the move, with a medical rescheduled on several occasions before a deal was confirmed beyond the 7pm deadline.
West Ham are currently 18th in the Premier League and lost 3-2 against Disasi’s parent club Chelsea on Saturday, despite being 2-0 up at half-time and level going into the 92nd minute. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side remain six points adrift of Nottingham Forest and Leeds, who meet at Elland Road on Friday evening.
Asked if he’s confident of helping West Ham stave off relegation following his arrival, Disasi said: “Yes, that’s why I came, because 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 this goal as well.
“The ambition is to put the Club back to its normal position and to enjoy playing football. I just want to bring my personality and my character on the pitch. I just want to bring myself and make sure that we achieve our goals. I will just try to bring this to the team and show my character on the pitch and off the pitch.”
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West Ham will hope to have Disasi fit and ready for a massive game this weekend when they go to 19th-placed Burnley. The Hammers will be without starting centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo for three games after he was sent off at Chelsea for violent conduct, leaving only Dino Mavropanos and the unfancied Max Kilman.
Espirito Santo will see Saturday’s trip to Turf Moor as close to a must-win, given they don’t face another bottom-eight side until hosting Wolves in mid-April. They will of course know the outcome of Friday’s meeting between Leeds and Forest before kick-off.
Leeds suffered their first home defeat since the end of November on Saturday, losing 4-0 to Arsenal. Daniel Farke will be desperate to quickly write that performance off and take three points from a direct relegation rival while maintaining a minimum six-point gap on West Ham by the end of the weekend.
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