Maresca AXES Chelsea star as Romano reveals 'important' suitors

Tom Weber

Updated: 13 Jan 2025 19:52 GMT
3 min read

Axel Disasi will be omitted from Chelsea's squad to face Bournemouth as he gears up for a transfer, according to Fabrizio Romano.

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The Frenchman's time at Stamford Bridge has, on the whole, not been a happy one. Signed from Monaco in 2023, Disasi featured prominently under Mauricio Pochettino but never quite managed to convince fans or club bosses.

Just a year after signing him, Chelsea were already prepared to cash in on him and Disasi was offered to Newcastle last summer. No move materialised and the 26-year-old has struggled for regular minutes under Enzo Maresca.

Disasi has on several occasions captained Chelsea's 'B Team' - the squad that features in Europe and the cups - but Premier League game time has been hard to come by, with the versatile defender only making five appearances.

It is possible that those five appearances were his last in the Premier League for Chelsea.

Disasi to leave Chelsea

Speculation surrounding Disasi has swirled for weeks and Fabrizio Romano has now confirmed that the player looks set to leave Chelsea after talking with the club hierarchy.

Romano reports that Disasi will be omitted from Maresca's squad to face Bournemouth on Tuesday as a way of asset protection to avoid a potential injury.

Disasi has 'important clubs' vying for his signature, though Romano did not mention any names. The Frenchman has been linked with Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus over the past few weeks.

Heading into January, Chelsea were determined to avoid a winter exodus, but it appears that their strategy of essentially building two different squads for the Premier League and other competitions has backfired, with several players unhappy about their situation.

In addition to Disasi, Renato Veiga is looking increasingly likely to leave Chelsea, while Benoit Badiashile was also the subject of interest prior to his injury.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Christopher Nkunku, Ben Chilwell, Carney Chukwuemeka, Cesare Casadei and Deivid Washington could also leave the club this month.