Why Axel Disasi is the perfect profile for Pochettino’s Chelsea

Unlike some of the more prodigious talents that are making big money transfers this summer, Axel Disasi’s career has been a bit of a slow burner. Disasi did not graduate from a famous youth academy, nor did he get any top flight minutes in his teenage years. Insead, he made a relatively modest start and came through the youth system of Paris FC. 

The centre back joined Stade de Reims at the start of the 2015/16 season, and helped the club rise from the second division of French football. His breakthrough campaign came in the 2019/20 season when he started 27 games and guided the Champagne-based club to their highest Ligue 1 finish in recent history. 

His consistency on the pitch drew the attention of AS Monaco, which materialised into a €13 million transfer in the summer of 2020. Disasi has since been a standout player for the club, making 129 appearances in 3 seasons and even going on to captain the side on numerous occasions. 

The French defender’s determination and undeniable talent has led to a steady rise throughout his career, culminating in a World Cup runner-up medal and attracting the interest of some of the biggest clubs in the world. 

Axel Disasi Transfer Value - how much is he worth? 

Disasi’s current Expected Transfer Value (xTV) is €20.1 million. According to reports, Chelsea beat off competition from Manchester United and Newcastle by agreeing to pay €45 million for his services. 

Such is the market for versatile and physical ball playing defenders that someone like Disasi, who also has International experience and Champions League pedigree will demand a huge fee. 

Axel Disasi’s strengths and weaknesses - what does the data say?

Standing at 1.90 metres, Disasi has a powerful and dominant presence. As WhoScored stats point out, his strength lies in the air - with 2.6 aerial duels won P90. This makes him more than capable of handling the more physical strikers in the Premier League. He also understands how to use his strength and size to win ground duels. 

Disasi scored 6 goals in all competitions last season and is able to dominate both boxes. His xG of 0.10 P90 was one of the highest figures for a defender in Ligue 1 last season and will give Chelsea a solid attacking threat from set pieces. This is especially important as Chelsea look to find a long term replacement for Thiago Silva. 

Despite his large frame, the 25-year old is not your archetypical big central defender. Disasi is excellent on the ball and shows a good variation in his passing, especially his switch of play. His 0.24 key passes and 5.70 passes into the final third P90 show that he is very much a modern centre back who likes to play on the front foot and can slot into any possession based system. 

An area that Disasi has worked on and gradually improved over the seasons is his ball carrying. With 1.73 progressive carries and 0.57 successful take-ons P90, he now excels at bringing the ball out from the back and creating overloads.

The Frenchman also offers versatility across the backline and can operate on both the right and left of a back two. This means that he can step in at left centre back to alleviate the temporary crisis caused by injuries to Badiashile and Fofana. 

He also can come in and directly challenge Thiago Silva for a starting spot on the right side. Disasi’s mobility and experience playing as a right back makes him equipped to cover the wide spaces left by Pochettino’s attacking full backs. 

There are some areas for the defender to make improvements. According to WhoScored, his only real weakness is that he does not make a high volume of tackles. However, this might be a case of him choosing to stay patient and not commit unless he is sure to win the ball. The fact that he loses only 0.38 challenges P90 points to the latter. 

Disasi’s imminent signing might have surprised Chelsea fans, as he is not the big name they were expecting. But if his career so far is anything to go by, he will continue to steadily grow and turn into a world class defender for them.

This article was provided by FootballTransfers