Axel Disasi reacts to Ousmane Dembele amid Chelsea exit speculation
Axel Disasi has responded to Ousmane Dembele’s post amid uncertainty over his Chelsea future before the new season starts.
After securing Champions League football and winning the Club World Cup in Enzo Maresca’s first season in charge, the Blues have been active in the transfer market.
Amongst their departures, Noni Madueke joined London rivals Arsenal as well as the sale of unwanted keeper Djordje Petrovic to Bournemouth.
This helped pave the way for big money moves for Joao Pedro from Brighton and Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund.
Given the size of Chelsea’s squad, Todd Boehly and co. will be looking for any opportunity to offload unused or unwanted players to raise capital and adhere to Financial Fair Play (FFP).
One player who could be shown the door is Disasi, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa.
Originally signed under now USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino, the Frenchman played just 17 times in all competitions, primarily featuring in Chelsea’s Conference League-winning team.
The French connection
Ballon d’Or hopeful Ousmane Dembele shared an Instagram post (25 July) attending a wedding.
The PSG forward appeared alongside Bayern Munich centre-back Dayot Upamecano who wore an all-white suit.
Champions League holder Dembele’s suit featured a rose which caught the eye of countrymen Samuel Umtiti who commented: “oh wow, the rose suits you.”
Chelsea centre-back Disasi, who has been linked with a potential move to Newcastle and, most recently Villareal according to L’Equipe (22 July), liked the post.
Disasi’s career at a standstill
Football Insider verdict
The 27-year-old is not in Maresca’s first-team plans with an exit appearing to be the only suitable alternative to resurrect his career.
His loan spell at Villa Park hardly showed that the former Monaco man is worth the £39million Chelsea forked out for him.
Additionally, given Chelsea’s promotion to a superior European competition in the Champions League, it appears unlikely Disasi will feature even as a rotation player.
| Chelsea’s centre-back options | Age |
| Levi Colwill | 22 |
| Wesley Fofana | 24 |
| Renato Veiga | 21 |
| Trevoh Chalobah | 26 |
| Benoit Badiashile | 24 |
| Axel Disasi | 27 |
| Tosin Adarabioyo | 27 |
| Josh Acheampong | 19 |
| Aaron Anselmino | 20 |
| Mamadou Sarr | 19 |
However, a chance to join the Magpies could be precisely what the defender needs.
Competing in the Champions League as well, Newcastle are in desperate need of greater squad depth.
An ageing Dan Burn and Fabian Schar will struggle to cope with the fixture congestion whilst injury-prone Sven Botman has to rest to aid his recovery.
Therefore, Disasi could wriggle his way into Eddie Howe’s thinking, should the Toon pursue the Frenchman.