Axel Disasi to seal third Premier League loan move after brutal Chelsea decision

Axel Disasi is close to signing for Crystal Palace on loan from Chelsea, talkSPORT understands.

Disasi, who has been frozen out at Stamford Bridge for almost a year, spent the second half of last season on loan at West Ham.

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The French centre-back has not played a game for the Blues since January 2025 and he’s now set for another exit.

Crystal Palace are hoping to bring in Disasi to help reinforce their defence after losing Maxence Lacroix this summer.

In a reverse move to Disasi, fellow Frenchman Lacroix joined Chelsea in July in a big-money deal worth £52million.

Marc Guehi also left the club for Manchester City in January.

Palace have been playing a back three of Chris Richards, Jaydee Canvot and Chadi Riad in pre-season, but they have added ex-Arsenal man Takehiro Tomiyasu and Oscar Mingueza to their ranks.

And Disasi is now set to join and provide further reinforcements at centre-back heading into the new campaign.

Chelsea make brutal decision

As if Disasi’s time at Chelsea over the last year wasn’t bad enough, as he was part of their ‘bomb squad’, it got worse this week.

He was not handed a squad number during the reveal on Wednesday, clearly indicating that he is not going to feature, even under new manager Xabi Alonso.

The 28-year-old was previously No.2 for the Blues, but that number has now gone to new signing Marco Palestra.

So, after his kit snub, Disasi is set for a third loan since 2025.

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Disasi’s loan spells

Disasi joined Chelsea from Monaco in 2023 and has played 61 games for the club in all competitions since his arrival.

But after slipping out of favour following Enzo Maresca‘s appointment as boss in 2024, he eventually left for Aston Villa.

His loan to Villa saw him make 10 appearances, with seven of those games coming in the Premier League.

He also played three games in the Champions League that year.

When Disasi returned to Chelsea though, that was when he was ousted from their squad and first-team training.

And that led to another temporary exit a few months later at the start of 2026, signing West Ham for the second half of the season.

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Disasi would impress for the Hammers, playing 17 times in total and starting all of his 14 Premier League appearances.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t help prevent relegation to the Championship, but he showed he still has the ability.

So much so that the defender has been attracting interest from Italian giants AC Milan and Roma this summer.

West Ham have also been linked again, alongside Crystal Palace, who now seem set to be the club to get a deal done.

Palace start their Premier League season away at Everton on Saturday afternoon in one of the 3pm kick-offs.