£38m Chelsea signing agrees to join rival Premier League club

Chelsea defender Axel Disasi has agreed to join another Premier League club after struggling for minutes under Enzo Maresca.

Disasi completed a £38.5m move to Chelsea in the summer of 2023 after three productive seasons at Ligue 1 side Monaco.

The France international signed a six-year contract with Chelsea but it looks improbable that he will see out that deal.

Disasi made over 40 appearances for Mauricio Pochettino’s Blues last season but was immediately placed in Chelsea’s ‘bomb squad’ last summer by new manager Maresca alongside the likes of Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell.

Chelsea were open to offers for the 26-year-old and while Disasi ended up staying at Stamford Bridge, his game-time has suffered.

Maresca has handed Disasi just four league starts, though the Frenchman has featured more regularly in Chelsea’s cup competitions.

Despite his underwhelming stint in west London, Disasi has attracted interest from a number of domestic and foreign clubs.

Fabrizio Romano says multiple Premier League and Serie A clubs are eyeing moves but will be left disappointed as Disasi has agreed to join Aston Villa on loan.

Chelsea and Villa are now in talks to iron out the terms of the loan deal and agree on salary coverage, but Disasi is no longer considering other options and is focused on reviving his career at Villa Park.

Aston Villa are three points and two places behind Chelsea in the Premier League table. Both clubs are looking for a top-four finish to qualify for the Champions League.

Disasi could become Villa’s third signing of the January transfer window following Levante defender Andres Garcia and Borussia Dortmund’s Donyell Malen.

Chelsea have endured a difficult start to 2025, only winning one of their four league games to slip outside the Champions League places.

Following Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to Manchester City, Maresca said: ‘We started very well. We scored the first one and could have scored the second one and then against this team and these players, the game is always open.

‘We conceded at the end of the first half and then the second half was probably 50/50. When you concede at the end of the first half, and the best way is to avoid it.

‘Probably for me, the game is different if we scored the second one. We need to be better but also playing the way we play, we scored the first one and could have scored the second one.

‘If we were able to score it, the game could have been very different for us.’

Disasi could be one of several Chelsea players leaving before the January transfer window closes, with Renato Veiga closing in on a move to Juventus and Omari Kellyman linked with a loan move.

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