West Ham are bolstering their defensive options by signing Axel Disasi on loan from Chelsea. The deal for the centre-back, who has not played since last April, will run until the end of the season and does not contain an option or obligation to buy.
Nuno Espírito Santo has been looking to boost his side’s hopes of avoiding relegation from the Premier League by signing a defender. Disasi was a key target, although he took some convincing to agree to move to the London Stadium. Talks over personal terms dragged on, forcing West Ham to submit a deal sheet to give themselves extra time to ensure the loan went through. They have paid a £1.7m loan fee.
It is understood that a medical for Disasi had to be rescheduled on several occasions on Monday. West Ham’s persistence paid off. Their need for a new centre-back has been heightened by Jean-Clair Todibo earning a three-game ban after getting sent off during the 3-2 defeat against Chelsea last Saturday. Nuno has little faith in Max Kilman, who has lost his place in the starting lineup. West Ham will hope that Disasi, who was put up for sale by Chelsea after falling out of favour, is fit enough to start against Burnley this Saturday.
Nuno will look to get Disasi up to speed. Although the 27-year-old performed below expectations after joining Chelsea from Monaco in the summer of 2023, he did well during a loan spell at Aston Villa last season.
Disasi was unable to secure a move away from Chelsea after his stint at Villa ended last summer. He spent the first half of this season training away from the first team and playing for the under-21s after moves to Bournemouth and Tottenham fell through. West Ham had tried to sign Southampton’s Taylor Harwood-Bellis before making a final push for Disasi. Chelsea had hoped to find a permanent buyer for Disasi, who also had interest from Milan, but accepted a loan was the best solution.
Chelsea had no space for Disasi even before they tried to bring forward their summer plans to sign a new centre-back. They missed out on Rennes’s Jérémy Jacquet to Liverpool but have recalled Mamadou Sarr from his loan at Strasbourg. Sarr was a key figure for Liam Rosenior before the Chelsea head coach left Strasbourg last month. Rosenior wanted the 20-year-old Senegal defender to be part of his squad for the rest of the season.
Strasbourg are owned by BlueCo, the investment vehicle that also runs Chelsea. BlueCo’s owners recalled Aaron Anselmino from his loan at Borussia Dortmund and have sent the Argentinian centre-back to Strasbourg for the rest of the season. The Chelsea striker David Datro Fofana has also joined the Ligue 1 side on loan.
Liverpool completed the signing of Jacquet from Rennes for £55m plus £5m in add-ons. The 20-year-old underwent a medical with Liverpool on Monday after the Premier League champions accelerated talks with the French club over the weekend. Chelsea had expected to sign the centre-half before Liverpool stepped in, while Bayern Munich had also made an approach for the France under-21 international. Jacquet will not become a Liverpool player until 1 July.
Everton have completed the loan signing of the Chelsea forward Tyrique George with an option to buy the 19-year-old in the summer. George, who can play across the front line, has found first-team opportunities limited at Stamford Bridge this season having made a breakthrough under Enzo Maresca in the previous campaign. He was close to joining Fulham for £22m in September only for the deal to fall through.
George is expected to replace Jack Grealish in David Moyes’s side. Grealish is expected to miss the remainder of the season with a stress fracture in a foot. The Chelsea academy product said: “I feel ready to make an impact. I’m going to attack this new challenge. I want to hit the ground running as quickly as possible and hopefully I can do that.”
Dwight McNeil’s proposed move to Crystal Palace – a loan with an obligation to buy for £20m in the summer – fell through despite the clubs putting in a deal sheet to complete the transfer late.
