Eyebrows were raised when West Ham United were credited with an interest in Monaco’s former Tottenham Hotspur and England defender Eric Dier during the January transfer window.
Dier, after all, celebrated his 32nd birthday a fortnight after New Years’ Day.
A surprisingly effective spell at Bayern Munich aside, it has been quite a while since the one-time England stalwart was commanding a backline in the way West Ham United were looking for.
They say never fall in love with a loan player, but we’ve all done it before 😂
A graphic asking West Ham United fans when they last loved a loan player as much as Axel Disasi.
Credit; Getty Images/Izzy Poles – AMA
Speaking on talkSPORT, Ally McCoist was not the only one to ask, if Eric Dier is the answer, what is the question?
Eric Dier struggles at Monaco while Axel Disasi shines at West ham United
Despite his 6ft 3ins frame, Dier had a worse aerial duel rate than Max Kilman or Jean-Clair Todibo. So if Nuno Espirito Santo needed a mobile, physically-imposing defender capable of fixing their set-piece issues and coping with the demands of English football, a 32-year-old Dier always felt like a questionable fit.
The feeling that West Ham dodged a bullet when Dier suffered yet another injury in the final few days of the January window – coinciding with them going all-in on Axel Disasi – has only been strengthened over the last two months.
Eric Dier during AS Monaco FC v Havre AC - Ligue 1 McDonald's
Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images
While Disasi has not missed a minute of West Ham’s last seven Premier League matches – a fact made all the more impressive when you consider the Chelsea misfit hadn’t even played a senior, competitive match until February at Turf Moor – Dier only returned to the Monaco squad last weekend.
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He has played zero league minutes in the time Disasi has racked up around 650.
The one-time Sporting Lisbon and Everton man could feature for the first time since January 24th when Monaco go head-to-head with fellow Champions League-chasers Marseille on Sunday. But West Ham needed a defender capable of slotting straight in without a period of adaptation.
Clearly, Dier would have failed where Disasi has thrived.
Disasi is loving life at West Ham after Chelsea banishment
“So far, my time at West Ham has been really nice, and everything has been only positive,” the five-time France international said recently. “My situation at Chelsea before was a little bit crazy, so it’s been great to come straight in and be part of the group, and everyone has been brilliant to me.”
Disasi has lost in only two of his nine games for the Hammers. A record he will hope to extend when Nuno’s side host Leeds in the FA Cup quarter-finals this weekend.
DISCUSS: This is the West Ham XI that needs to be named against Leeds
Should be strong enough to progress while resting key players for Wolves? 🤔
A graphic showing West Ham United's ideal XI against Leeds in the FA Cup.
Credit; GRV Media
“The fans, the other players and the staff at the training ground, I have to say thank you to everyone, because straight away I felt part of the family, and that I am in the right place,” Disasi added before March’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City, a game in which he helped shackle Erling Haaland alongside Jean-Clair Todibo and an outstanding Konstantinos Mavropanos.
“I think there’s real togetherness within the squad, and everyone has the same goal to make sure we achieve our objective of staying in the Premier League.
“When I arrived here, I realised that everyone is fighting together. Everyone knows we’re in a situation that none of us want to be in, and you can see that we have the quality to do much better.
“I’m confident we’ll be OK.”
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