As the January transfer window played out, Aston Villa had a clear priority to bolster our defensive options ahead of the deadline.
In addition to the sale of Diego Carlos after the Brazilian centre-half wanted to move on and join Fenerbahce, we suffered a double injury setback with both Pau Torres and Tyrone Mings being sidelined.
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That in turn has led to Boubacar Kamara having to fill in as a make-shift centre-back in our last two games, and as good as he is wherever you put him, it’s a role that obviously doesn’t entirely suit him and leaves us more vulnerable at the back, while we also lose his significant influence in midfield too.
Signing a defensive reinforcement before the deadline this week was therefore imperative, and although Villa left it late with Disasi arriving after a deal-sheet was submitted before time elapsed, we eventually got our priority target for the position.
Speaking to VillaTV after arriving at the club, the Frenchman spoke about the trust and belief that he felt from Unai Emery and the management team, and with reports suggesting that he prioritised us too amid interest from elsewhere, it hopefully proves to be a successful stint to reward that faith.
Admittedly, he hasn’t entirely convinced at Chelsea as he has his detractors among their fanbase, and so he’ll have to improve and perform at a high level consistently if he is to give us what we need.
While he’s cup-tied against Tottenham in our FA Cup clash this weekend, he’ll perhaps be asked to step in against Ipswich Town in just over a week’s time, provided that Mings hasn’t returned by then, while Torres is likely to be a few weeks behind him.
Disasi will also be a crucial option for Emery to either rest Ezri Konsa or shift one of them across to right-back, as he often likes to do, to give us a back-three in possession and in theory at least, a more solid foundation at the back.
Villa have conceded poor, avoidable goals on a consistent basis this season and it has certainly hurt us and cost us points, and so aside from providing competition and depth, Disasi will hopefully prove to be a commanding presence at the back who helps shore up a leaky defence as a regular starter if he can establish himself as a reliable presence.
He certainly brings a physical presence and hopefully imposes himself effectively to help us shut teams out, while we should mention his threat at the other end too given he has scored goals for Chelsea, and will be another weapon for our set-piece coach, Austin MacPhee, to use.
With a decisive few months ahead of us now as we look to secure European qualification for next season and try to advance in both the Champions League and FA Cup, we’ve addressed key concerns in the transfer window, and Disasi could prove to be one of the more important ones in the short term at least.
