West Ham will look at signing Axel Disasi permanently if and when they secure Premier League survival – but they do not yet know Chelsea’s asking price and believe his value has fallen considerably since he was bought for £38.8million from Monaco in 2023.
Hammers sources say that while they rate the defender, who turned 28 today, they would not want to go near the fee paid by the Blues, considering how he fell out of favour at Stamford Bridge.
It is also too soon to say whether Disasi would want to stay with West Ham, given that there are two months of the season remaining and the club are still in a fight to secure their Premier League status. They are currently 18th in the table but on an upward trajectory with Disasi’s help, having lost only one of the five league matches in which he has started since signing on loan.
The added complication for the Hammers is how other clubs in Europe will be taking note of his influence heading into a summer when it is known he will be for sale.
Disasi signed for West Ham on deadline day in January, though negotiations over personal terms took some agreeing. One source told Confidential he was on slightly more than £100,000 a week at Chelsea. It is understood West Ham wound up paying a £1.7m loan fee.
As well as his performances on the pitch, he is said to have been influential behind the scenes since arriving at the London Stadium. He bolstered the Hammers’ defensive options, and has started in all of their Premier League games since he joined Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.
Chelsea’s Axel Disasi has started every Premier League game since joining West Ham on loan on deadline day and has been a superb addition to their squad
Chelsea paid £38.8million to Monaco for Disasi but he fell out of favour at Stamford Bridge
ROSENIOR’S BIG CALL FOR PSG CLASH
Whereas Enzo Maresca was extremely open in telling reporters who would start in goal the day before a game, Liam Rosenior does not want to give anything away that might help his rivals. But, make no mistake, it is a big decision for the manager to make for the Paris Saint-Germain clash.
Rosenior says he has no set first-choice No 1, though if ever there was a warning over the risks of not sticking with an established ‘keeper, it came in Tottenham’s loss to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night.
Robert Sanchez, 28, being dropped for Filip Jorgensen, 23, for their Premier League trip to Aston Villa coincided with Chelsea hiring the former Leeds and Brighton stopper Casper Ankergren in a temporary coaching role, as revealed by Daily Mail Sport.
So, who starts versus PSG? Your guess is as good as mine.
Jorgensen is better at playing short passes and Rosenior likes his goalkeeper acting as an extra player in possession. But Sanchez is the better shot-stopper overall and good at playing long passes towards the wingers, which could be a good way of catching out the Parisians’ high line, so I’d be tempted to go with the more experienced man in goal. It’s a call Rosenior needs to get right.
Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez trains ahead of Chelsea’s PSG Champions League clash
CHELSEA TAKING TIME WITH COLWILL
Levi Colwill trained with his Chelsea team-mates before they flew to Paris on Tuesday.
While good news, we should not get too ahead of ourselves, as Colwill still has some way to go before we see him in an actual game. The 23-year-old defender has been working outside on the grass since January after an ACL injury threatened to end his season before it had even started.
Colwill picked up his problem on the very first day of pre-season in the summer.
Meanwhile, Confidential saw Estevao Willian working individually on the training pitch at Cobham on Friday, and we should see him return to the team’s sessions soon.
Levi Colwill is back in training with his Chelsea team-mates following his ACL injury
ADULT MASCOTS IN CHELSEA’S NEXT GAMES
Chelsea’s match against Newcastle on Saturday – along with Chelsea Women versus Brighton Women next Wednesday – will see some adult mascots accompany the players on to the pitch.
Those games have been selected to showcase the work of Chelsea Foundation, with participants representing people of all ages and backgrounds who have been supported by a variety of programmes delivered locally by the club’s charitable arm.
Mascots will include Sharon, who joined Chelsea Foundation’s walking football programme after losing her husband in 2019, and Chelsea’s Premier League community captain, Noha, who will walk out with the captain at the match versus Newcastle.
Since joining Chelsea Foundation’s Premier League Kicks programme, Noha has improved her football skills and become an influential leader in the local community, including recently being elected as Youth Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
ALL SET FOR EL YOUTHICO
Wednesday night’s Champions League clash will see two of the youngest sides in Europe go head to head – but BlueCo top the table when it comes to youth.
Strasbourg, managed by Gary O’Neil, have averaged the youngest age in Europe’s elite leagues in 2025-26 at 21 years and 344 days. That is followed by PSG (23 years, 317 days), then Parma (24 years, 137 days), then Chelsea (24 years, 194 days), then Toulouse (24 years, 254 days).
You imagine Strasbourg player Guela Doue, 23, is unsure who he should be supporting tonight. His brother, Desire Doue, plays for PSG but his club is owned by Chelsea caretakers BlueCo.
YOUNGEST AVERAGE AGES IN EUROPE, 2025-26:
Strasbourg: 21 years 344 days
PSG: 23y 317d
Parma: 24y 137d
Chelsea: 24y 194d
Toulouse: 24y 254d
Desire Doue, 20, will be in action for Paris Saint-Germain against Chelsea on Wednesday night. PSG, like the Blues, have a very young squad
UEFA BAN FOR ‘UNSPORTING’ REAL MADRID COACH
UEFA have slapped Real Madrid Youth assistant coach Luis Ayllon with a one-game ban for their next match due to ‘unsporting conduct’ in their 1-0 win over Chelsea last month.
It is understood his ‘unsporting’ act was to delay the Blues’ restart of play in stoppage time – as Ayllon refused to give the ball back to Jesse Derry for a throw-in. Derry, 18, gave him a little shove for his troubles as Chelsea wanted to get going in search of a late equaliser.
It did not come as Chelsea lost to exit the UEFA Youth League in disappointing fashion after an early goal by Real’s Daniel Yanez, the 18-year-old winger who has appeared once for his senior side.
