Aston Villa have reportedly agreed on personal terms with Axel Disasi and will try to secure a deal with Chelsea to sign him this week.
The 26-year-old joined our Premier League rivals from Monaco in August 2023, and he has since gone on to make 61 appearances, scoring five goals and providing two assists to go with his defensive work.
READ MORE: Emery on Foyth interest, confirms ex-Villa ace opted to leave
With Diego Carlos departing for Fenerbahce last week and after both Pau Torres and Tyrone Mings have suffered injuries over the past month, Unai Emery is short of options in defence, and so that area of his squad has become a priority as we head towards the January transfer window deadline.
According to Fabrizio Romano, it appears as though we have identified our solution, as he reports that personal terms have been agreed with Disasi who held direct talks with Emery, and he wants to join us despite interest from other clubs. While that’s a significant development in our pursuit of a new centre-half, it’s now down to whether or not Chelsea and Villa can agree on the terms of a deal.
Crucially, it remains to be seen if this will be an initial loan switch or if we’re looking to sign Disasi on a permanent basis immediately, but it’s a potential swoop that will likely be underwhelming for many, given he has struggled at Chelsea to entirely convince and is seemingly now regarded as being surplus to requirements by Enzo Maresca.
Much comes down to Emery and who he feels will be the best fit for our system and style of play, and so it could prove to be an inspired addition to the squad if a deal is confirmed, but what is clear at this stage is that we undoubtedly need to bring in reinforcements to provide competition and depth in our backline, and the French international could now emerge as the top option.
Having been heavily linked with Juan Foyth after a move for Sevilla defender Loic Bade fell through, this is the most significant update we’ve had in our search for a defender, and so time will tell if a deal for Disasi is completed, or if we’re forced to look elsewhere once again.
