Chelsea have agreed a deal in principle with French Ligue 1 side AS Monaco for 25-year-old defender Axel Disasi.
The Frenchman is in the final two years of his contract at the principality club and is set to come in for the injured Wesley Fofana, who suffered a season-ending injury playing for the Blues in pre-season.
Disasi has been on the watchlist of a number of Premier League clubs including Newcastle United and Manchester United. However, the man who made his international debut at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar looks set to be headed for Chelsea in another blow to Manchester United, who have struggled to secure their targets in the ongoing transfer market window.
Monaco are understood to be letting him go because they have secured the services of Ghana international Mohammed Salisu from Southampton, who were relegated from the English top flight last season.
Disasi can be seen as a quick fix but with his quality, he could challenge for Fofana’s place in the Blues’ starting XI. The right-sided centreback will join Mauricio Pochettino’s defensive framework which consists of youngster Levi Colwill, veteran Thiago Silva, Trevoh Chalobah and Disasi’s fellow Frenchman Benoit Badiashile, who is still recovering from a hamstring injury sustained last season and is expected back in late August.
Disasi will be Chelsea’s third official signing after Senegal international Nicolas Jackson and former Paris Saint-Germain forward Christopher Nkunku, who was signed in January but joined up with the team in June. The details for the 25-year-old’s transfer are still being finalised between all parties.
Meanwhile, Chelsea is also close to agreeing terms to bring in French-Nigerian player Lesley Ugochukwu from Stade Rennais.
The 19-year-old is set to cost £23.1 million but it is unknown if he will join up with Pochettino’s team this season or go back out on loan to the Blues’ sister club Strasbourg or any other club.
All of these moves are on the back of Chelsea’s win at the Premier League summer series in the USA, where Fofana picked up his season-ending injury. Chelsea defeated Fulham 2-0 to claim the first-ever summer series trophy. Nkunku was on the scoresheet in that game, with his goal in the 41st minute proving to be the match-winner.
The victory came after a 1-1 draw with Newcastle United and a 4-3 win over Brighton and Hove Albion. Chelsea finished top of the six-team tournament with seven points and will now be looking forward to integrating Disasi and possibly Ugochukwu for the 2023/24 season which begins in mid-August.
