Axel Disasi and Chelsea. This can't be coincidence. Not like this. There's clearly a method to it. A system put in place which drew Chelsea to prise the 25 year-old away from AS Monaco...
Wesley Fofana. Benoit Badiashile. And now Disasi... oh, and you can throw in Christopher Nkunku as well. Talented. Youthful... and French. Indeed, they know eachother. All four being past members of the renowned Sylvain Ripoll's U21 France team. All four now senior Les Bleus teammates - both for country and now club.
So there's an immediate connection. Familiar faces. Warm faces. An ease with which Disasi - and before him, Nkunku - will be allowed to settle in London. Fofana, again sidelined with those troublesome knees, was the first through Cobham's gates a year ago from Leicester. Then it was Badiashile, who left Monaco and Disasi in January. Now Nkunku -via RB Leipzig - and Disasi have tread the same path this summer.
This can't be a coincidence. As we've reasoned in this column over the past year, with so much flux and uncertainty within Chelsea's dressing room, it would normally take months, perhaps even a year - for combinations and relationships to develop between new teammates. But with four lads arriving from France. Who have known eachother for years. Perhaps Chelsea's sporting directors, Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley, have found a way to short circuit this development period?
"He can adapt to several positions," Badiashile said of Disasi when still ASM teammates last season. "He's shown he can play on the right and centrally in defence. He deserves this because I see how hard he works in training."
"Hard work" is a catch-cry for Disasi's career. Not one to be recruited to the Clairefontaine academy as a junior, Disasi had to battle his way through France's football pyramid. From Paris FC to Reims and finally to Monaco, the now 25 year-old had his ups and downs along the way. But his former coaches admit, certain things - whether from outside or within - have consistently clicked for Disasi at the right time.
Snapped up by Paris FC as an amateur at 17, within weeks Disasi was making his senior debut.
"Everything happened really fast. I don't think he expected it… neither did we. All the planets aligned," recalls his old coach at PFC, Mathieu Lacan, as Disasi crashed through the U17 and U19 levels to find his way into the senior team.
A year later and he was signing for Reims, then of Ligue 2. It was there that Disasi truly developed his craft. No longer the raw kid with potential. The penny dropped for Disasi over his four years with Reims. Football became his career. His obsession. And it was that dedication which landed a dream move to Monaco. Franck Chalençon, Reims' B team manager, recalls that summer in 2020 when it was agreed Disasi would be leaving for ASM: "Before he left for Monaco, he came back to train for a month in my group [the reserve team].
"In the approach to his profession, in the communication with his teammates, I saw a transformed boy."
Indeed, that "transformation" was quickly recognised by then ASM coach Niko Kovac. While not a boisterous personality, even at 22 and just weeks into his move, Disasi was named a vice-captain by Kovac, "It's not in his nature to speak in front of the group on a daily basis. (But) he is a leader by example."
That was Kovac speaking to Le Monde just last season. But upon Disasi's arrival back in 2020, the Croatian was convinced they'd found something special: "He is a player with great potential.
"Despite his youth, he mixes with the older ones during the youngsters versus the more experienced training games.
"He is a very talented player, he is physically strong, fast - which is important when pressing high. He was bought to protect our defence and our goal. He is very intelligent and will progress as he goes, we hope he will continue to improve."
We haven't yet heard from Mauricio Pochettino regarding his new defender, but you fancy he'll be saying similar to those words of Kovac three years ago. Disasi's time with Monaco was a steady upward curve. The stopper not only benefiting from the confidence shown in him by Kovac, but also the training pitch work he received from another former ASM coach, Philippe Clement, and his staff.
The Belgian remarked just before last year's World Cup: "Axel is certainly turning a corner. He has grown a lot physically, but also as a man. He has a lot more confidence with the ball than six months ago. He's worked closely with the staff and you can see the benefits. He's a young player who has become a man as he's gained more weight in the dressing room."
The finished article? At 25? Not quite. But Chelsea are bringing in a potential leader. A steady personality. One whom does by deed and not word. And for this dressing room. At this time. You can understand why Chelsea acted so decisively when it became clear Disasi was on the move. The expanding French contingent will help. And given the endorsements of past coaches, you do expect Disasi to quickly find his place inside the Blues locker room.
The talent. The potential. It's all there. But there's more than that to this deal. A French-speaker with a leading personality. Yeah, there's definitely a method to this.
