LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 03: Axel Disasi of Chelsea in action during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Brighton & Hove Albion at Stamford Bridge on December 03, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Mario Melchiot has been discussing where Chelsea’s Axel Disasi plays his best football.
Chelsea signed Axel Disasi in the summer in a £38.8million deal (Sky Sports) from Monaco, which we do think looks like a pretty expensive piece of business.
The 25-year-old defender has actually put in some fairly solid performances so far during his first taste of English football, though.
He’s a centre-back by trade playing most of his minutes in the heart of the Blue defence. However, we’ve also seen him cover as an emergency right-back on more than one occasion this season.
Mario Melchiot verdict
ESPN pundit and former Chelsea star Mario Melchiot insists Disasi is much more of a centre-back than right-back. He observed this after his challenging display at full-back in Sunday’s 3-2 win over Brighton in the Premier League.
“I was surprised they didn’t play [Kaoru] Mitoma against Disasi,” Melchiot told ESPN.
“Disasi, I don’t know if he’s going to be a right-sided player. I see him more like a centre-half.
We agree that Disasi can look vulnerable when he’s got to defend 1v1 in wide areas. There’s also not much you get from him as an attacking threat from right-back.
Instead, the powerhouse is much better defending his own box in the centre.
Axel Disasi position
We don’t imagine seeing Disasi fill in at full-back many more times this campaign, but the Blues were desperate without both Reece James and Malo Gusto at the weekend.
Overall, the Frenchman’s been a pretty solid performer when you look at his work at centre-half.
It’s going to be interesting to see which partnership emerges as the best once every centre-back in the club if fit because there’s a lot of talented options.
