Chelsea sneakily agree £38m transfer for Man Utd target Axel Disasi

Chelsea have stealthily agreed a £38million deal in principle with Monaco for France international defender Axel Disasi. The versatile centre-back, who is also comfortable at right-back, is now set to undergo a medical ahead of his proposed switch to Stamford Bridge.

The transfer has seemingly come out of the blue as the Chelsea hierarchy continue to turn the screw in their pursuit of new recruits ahead of the 2023/24 season.

On Saturday, a £23.5m agreement was struck with Stade Rennes for 19-year-old midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu and now Chelsea have followed that up with yet another imminent arrival from France.

The Athletic are reporting that Chelsea have now tied up an agreement for Disasi with Monaco after pipping Manchester United and Newcastle to his signature.

Both clubs wanted the player but have been unable to fund the move due to their failure to shift players out of the door.

Disasi has already reportedly agreed personal terms with Chelsea meaning the move is now likely to be completed in the coming days.

Chelsea have been forced into the transfer market for defensive reinforcements after losing Wesley Fofana to a serious knee injury.

Benoit Badiashile is also set to miss the start of the season due to the hamstring injury he sustained at the back end of last season.

It means at the moment, Chelsea only have Levi Colwill, Thiago Silva and Trevoh Chalobah fit and available ahead of their season-opener against Liverpool.

But that will soon change when Disasi bolsters their ranks and he can also help provide cover and competition for Reece James and Malo Gusto at right-back.

The 25-year-old has won four caps for France and was part of the Les Bleus squad that reached the World Cup final in Qatar.

He also donned the armband for Monaco last season and has developed a fine reputation as one of the best defenders in Ligue 1 in the past few seasons.

Disasi moved to Monaco in 2020 in a £10m deal from Reims and since then he has become indispensable at Stade Louis II where he has scored seven times in 99 appearances.

Pochettino recently made it clear that Brighton and Liverpool transfer target Levi Colwill will not be going anywhere this summer.

The Blues have offered the Euro U21 winner a new long-term contract that he is yet to accept but Pochettino has made no secret of the fact he is a huge fan of the player.

“He is going to continue with us,” Pochettino said after welcoming Colwill back to the Chelsea fold.

“I am happy with him, his performance was good today, better than what I expected because it is only the first game with us after the season with Brighton. I am so happy, he can be one of the greatest centre-backs in England.”