Roma’s Cut-Price Chase for Disasi Hits a Tactical Snag

Chelsea will let Axel Disasi go for around €20 million this summer, about £17 million or $23 million, a fraction of the £38.8 million it paid Monaco for him in 2023. Roma have registered concrete interest, and Crystal Palace and AC Milan are circling too.

The numbers from Disasi’s loan spell at West Ham show exactly why Roma like him. They also show exactly where Gian Piero Gasperini’s system could hurt him.

Chelsea Puts a Cut Price on a Former Marquee Signing

Disasi signed a six-year deal at Stamford Bridge in August 2023, arriving with what Chelsea’s co-sporting directors called proven quality from several seasons in Ligue 1. The fee was widely reported at £38.8 million, and Chelsea’s official announcement listed it closer to €45 million once bonuses were folded in.

Three years on, he has not started a Premier League match for Chelsea since a 14-minute cameo against Wolves in January 2025. He spent the second half of that season on loan at Aston Villa, returned to Chelsea for pre-season, then went out again to West Ham last February. West Ham were relegated at the end of the campaign.

Now Xabi Alonso, hired to replace Enzo Maresca and rebuild Chelsea’s back line, has told Disasi he is free to leave. Roma are the club most seriously linked, with Italian media reporting a firm asking price in the region of €20 million.

Three Summers of Trying to Give Him Away

This is not Chelsea’s first attempt to move Disasi on. Bournemouth held advanced talks over a loan in an earlier window, according to reporting at the time, before the deal fell through and he stayed in what British outlets nicknamed Chelsea’s bomb squad. Roma’s interest now follows what one outlet described as three consecutive summers of Chelsea trying and failing to find a permanent buyer.

The transfer record below shows how the numbers have moved since Disasi first left Reims for Monaco in 2020.

That last line is genuinely unsettled. Some outlets, including reporting that cited talkSPORT sourcing, put Chelsea’s valuation closer to £25 million plus add-ons rather than the lower figure other reports have carried. Either way, it is well below what Chelsea paid three years ago.

Crystal Palace and AC Milan Crowd the Race

Roma are not alone. Crystal Palace have opened their own talks with Chelsea, though theirs are tangled up with a separate negotiation: Chelsea want Palace defender Maxence Lacroix, and Disasi’s name has come up as part of those discussions. Transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano said on his channel that the talks were progressing, and noted Palace had also asked about Disasi during the Lacroix conversation.

AC Milan have been credited with interest too, giving Chelsea three potential buyers to negotiate against each other before the window closes.

What we know:

• Chelsea have put Disasi up for sale after his loan spell at relegated West Ham.
• Roma have registered concrete, confirmed interest through Italian media.
• Crystal Palace have opened talks that reportedly touch on Disasi during separate Lacroix negotiations.
• AC Milan have also been linked.

What’s unconfirmed:

• The exact asking price, reported anywhere from about £17 million to £25 million plus add-ons.
• Which of the three suitors is closest to a finished deal.
• Whether Palace would want Disasi permanently or simply as loan cover.

Whoever moves first will need to move soon. Chelsea’s broader defensive rebuild under Alonso is not waiting around, and it stretches well past one centre-back.

What Would Roma Actually Be Buying?

Across 17 appearances and 1,510 minutes on loan at West Ham last season, Disasi’s underlying numbers point to a defender built for contact rather than pace. He is combative, competitive and reliable on the ball, exactly the profile a physical Serie A defense wants at the back.

• 68.75% tackle success, the best mark among West Ham’s outfield players behind Adama Traore’s perfect record.
• 62.34% ground duel success, 48 wins from 77 attempts, second at the club only to Konstantinos Mavropanos.
• 86.06% pass completion, a notably clean distribution rate for a centre-back his size.
• 43 possessions won back, more recoveries than some teammates who played roughly double his minutes.

He also won 25 of 42 aerial duels and made 74 ground clearances plus 40 headed clearances in that limited sample. For a squad player fighting for a route out of west London, those are strong reference points.

Gasperini’s High Line Asks the One Thing Disasi Lacks

Here is where the numbers cut the other way. Disasi’s one documented weakness, according to the underlying data, is one-on-ones out wide. He is reluctant to leave central areas, slow to turn, and vulnerable to being beaten for pace down the flanks when isolated, particularly against balls played over a high defensive line.

Gasperini’s Roma plays almost exclusively with a back three, most often a 3-4-2-1 or 3-4-1-2, built around aggressive, high-engagement defending rather than a settled low block. Tactical analysts have described his centre-backs as expected to defend large spaces, step out of position and drive forward with the ball, the exact profile that punishes a defender who cannot turn and recover quickly.

Roma leaned on Gianluca Mancini, Mats Hummels and Evan Ndicka across the back three last season, and the side’s defense ranked among Serie A’s stingiest for goals conceded even while Gasperini pushed his wing-backs and attackers forward. That kind of platform can protect a limited defender. It can also be the exact setup that leaves one exposed the moment he gets dragged wide and isolated, which is the specific scenario Disasi’s own numbers say he struggles with most.

Why Roma Still Need Defensive Cover

That does not mean the move is a bad idea for Roma. Zeki Çelik’s free transfer to Juventus already opened a hole on the right side of that back three, a role that covered significant defensive ground under Gasperini, and depth has become a real priority. At €20 million for a player still only 28, first-team coach Gasperini is unlikely to find an experienced centre-back in his prime for that price again this summer.

Roma’s transfer business this summer has not been limited to defense either. The club is also managing Paulo Dybala’s contract standoff as Boca Juniors circles, a separate storyline that shows how much squad turnover Gasperini is juggling heading into the new campaign.

Chelsea’s side of the ledger is just as busy. The Garnacho loan referenced at the top of this story is one piece of it, and the loan structure behind Alejandro Garnacho’s move to Aston Villa shows Alonso is not just trimming his squad, he is actively recycling value out of it while he reshapes the back line around new arrivals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Has Axel Disasi Played for France at a World Cup?

Yes. He was part of France’s squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and had been capped four times by the senior national team at the point Chelsea signed him in August 2023, according to the club’s own signing announcement.

How Many Times Has Chelsea Tried to Move Disasi On?

This is at least the third straight summer. Bournemouth held advanced loan talks in an earlier window that ultimately collapsed, before loan moves to Aston Villa and then West Ham followed, and reporting this month describes Chelsea as having twice failed to find a permanent buyer before this summer’s push.

Is Disasi Chelsea’s Only Squad Departure This Summer?

No. Reports have linked goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen (valued around £15 million), striker Liam Delap and forward Marc Guiu with exits as part of a squad overhaul under Alonso, with England defender John Stones separately linked as a potential arrival to help reshape the back line.

How Long Is Disasi’s Contract at Chelsea?

He signed a six-year deal in 2023 that runs to the summer of 2029, meaning any sale this year would still represent Chelsea recouping a fee with three years of the contract left to run.