Axel Disasi on his Chelsea move: “I knew I needed to get to a club with a bigger stature.”
Speaking exclusively to L’Équipe, Chelsea summer signing Axel Disasi (25) spoke about his rapid adaptation to new responsibilities with the Blues.
When the ex-Monégasque joined Todd Boehly’s newly acquired side back at the beginning of August, amongst a star-spangled crop of over £400 million’s worth of talents, some wondered whether he had the shoulders to carry the burden of being one of the leaders of such an inexperienced squad.
Admittedly, it had been an eventful few months for the Frenchman, starting on November 9th 2022, when his national team’s manager Didier Deschamps selected him, amongst 22 others, to represent the country during the upcoming World Cup in Qatar. Just three weeks later, he was given his first start against Tunisia, in the last match of the group stages. An experience which he states “changed him”.
Just under a year from then, and 11 games into the current Premier League season (10 of which he started), Disasi has carved out a place in Chelsea’s starting XI. “He (Mauricio Pochettino) gave me the necessary confidence. He didn’t hesitate to put me into [the line-up] a week after my arrival,” Disasi told L’Équipe.
“When I resumed with Monaco, I was eyeing a move, so I prepared very well during the Summer pre-season. The league was also very appealing to me […] in the long-term I knew I needed to get to a club with a bigger stature. I needed to get out of my comfort zone,” he added.
Disasi is the joint-third most-used outfield player this season, only behind club-grown Levi Colwill and Conor Gallagher. He’ll be hoping to be a part of “Dédé’s” France squad for Euro qualifier games against Gibraltar and Greece, which will be announced on Thursday.
GFFN | Alfred Lalande
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