Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Axel Disasi from Monaco. The centre-back is likely to complete a switch to Stamford Bridge this week and should be available for a tasty season opener against Liverpool on Sunday 13th August.
Disasi arrives to provide competition in central defence and he’s a strong candidate for a starting role with Wesley Fofana an injury absentee for the foreseeable future. Fofana wears the number 33 shirt but could be rewarded with a more important number despite the ACL injury.
There are also plenty of options for Disasi given Chelsea’s summer exodus has freed up plenty of usually important shirt numbers. The 25 year old should complete his move and be presented as a Chelsea player in the coming days after a €45m transfer fee was agreed between the two clubs. We should then soon get confirmation of which shirt number Disasi and Chelsea’s other summer signings will wear.
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Disasi’s Monaco number
Axel Disasi was initially given the number 20 shirt when he signed for Monaco from Reims in 2020. He was signed as a bright young defender but faced a battle to secure a regular starting role in his first season in the principality and was left on the bench 11 times during his first Ligue 1 campaign with the club.
It didn’t take long for Disasi’s importance to grow though and he established himself as a regular starter and key player for Monaco during the following two seasons. That period saw Disasi turn out in the number 6 shirt.
He had also previously worn 6 during his time at Reims with a successful 2019/20 campaign being Disasi’s breakthrough season which helped earn him the move to Monaco.
Summer exodus frees up squad numbers
Chelsea have been one of the busiest Premier League clubs in the summer transfer window, certainly when it comes to departures. The absence of European football has made trimming what was already a large squad an absolute necessity. The club will be pleased with the relative ease with which they’ve been able to move players on whilst generating some significant funds in the process.
N’golo Kante, Hakim Ziyech, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy are just some of the important players to have left Stamford Bridge this summer. Such an extensive exodus means Chelsea now have a great deal of flexibility when it comes to giving new signings lower squad numbers while the likes of Fofana and Marc Cucurella could also be due to new numbers with the pair currently wearing 33 and 32 respectively.
What Chelsea shirt numbers are available for Disasi?
Disasi’s seemingly preferred number 6 is not available. That’s occupied by fellow centre-back Thiago Silva. The most common central defensive shirt numbers are 4 and 5 but those are also occupied. Benoit Badiashile is the number 4 while Enzo Fernandez wears 5 with both players handed key numbers following January moves.
One possibility could be to give Disasi, who can also operate as a right back, the vacant number 2 shirt. He wore 2 during his very early days as a teenager with Paris FC. Alternatively, he could initially get a higher number and take on the number 6 whenever Thiago Silva leaves the club with the Brazilian’s contract set to expire next summer.
Numbers 12, 16, and 19 are all currently available and would be options for Disasi. The number 3 jersey is also vacant, although it’s not a number the French defender has previously worn.
