French football analyst James Eastham provides expert insight on defender Axel Disasi following his move to Chelsea.
Player analysis - Axel Disasi
In a world where footballers are often described as being all the same, Disasi offers proof that this is demonstrably not the case.
The new Chelsea centre-back has taken an unconventional path to the Premier League and turned it into an obvious strength, on and off the pitch.
See: Chelsea sign Disasi from Monaco
Disasi was the only member of France’s 23-man squad for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar last year who didn’t step into the professional game via an elite Academy.
Slow beginnings
He was in the youth sector at Paris FC, at the time a third-division club. While many of his peers who would become international team-mates were being fast-tracked for success at clubs such as Rennes, Lille and Nantes, Disasi was essentially living the life of a normal teenager.
At 17, he was studying sports at college, catching rush-hour buses to training after class. As he served out his apprenticeship below the hothouse level that produces most of France’s top footballers, there were no guarantees he would make it.
He broke into the Paris FC first team aged 16, and then joined Reims in 2016. But, he spent long, frustrating months in the reserves there.
Waiting for an opportunity, he trained hard. Off the pitch, with time on his hands, he learned to play the piano.
Finally the call came – and he never looked back. During a single season as a first-choice Reims player in 2019/20, he caught the attention of Monaco, one of France's bigger clubs.
A move to the Cote d’Azur followed – and now, after three seasons in the Principality, he has landed in west London.
Raw energy
The legacy of his journey is obvious. Having bypassed some of the youth development sector’s linear coaching codes, his play retains a raw, unpremeditated energy.
Bold on the ball, he will gallop into midfield when the opportunity arises. Brave when building from the back, Disasi has an eye for a sudden, line-splitting pass.
Risky? Sometimes. Watchable? Yes. Consider his height, 6ft 3in, and noticeable athletic attributes too, and his is an exciting profile.
Positionally, Disasi provides Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino and his coaching staff with several options. At Monaco, he played in both a back three and a back four. He was comfortable in the two systems.
International debut
Intriguingly, at the FIFA World Cup last December, France manager Didier Deschamps handed Disasi his international debut not at centre-back, but at right-back.
That occurred in France’s final group match against Tunisia, when Deschamps rotated as France had already qualified for the knockout phase.
Disasi was used again at right-back again in the final, as a substitute, in the dying moments of stoppage time, just before that thrilling match v Argentina went to penalties.
Leadership qualities
Aside from his more measurable technical and physical qualities, Disasi also has the potential to emerge as a leader. At every juncture during his time in France, different coaches have referenced his strength of character, or lauded the galvanising impact he has on those around him.
Aged 22, Monaco named him their vice-captain and, at times, he wore the armband.
Reuniting with Badiashile
At Chelsea, he reunites with former Monaco team-mate Benoit Badiashile. Centre-backs of immense potential, their rates of development were so different. Badiashile, three years Disasi’s junior, was marked out for the top from an early age.
He played 50 times for France at age-group level. A late developer, Disasi made just three France Under-20 appearances.
By his 21st birthday, Badiashile had played 85 times in Ligue 1. At the same age, Disasi had made only 18 league appearances, and all but one of those was in Ligue 2.
Yet alongside one another, they made progress as a pair. In the heat of Ligue 1 matches, they would cover for one other, run and jump and correct each other's mistakes.
In two full seasons together, they helped Monaco secure consecutive third-place finishes in 2020/21 and 2021/22.
Badiashile moved to the Premier League last January; now Disasi is ready to wear the blue of Chelsea as well.
The next chapter of his story is about to unfold – and, you sense that, as ever, he’ll write it in his own, unmistakeable style.