Crystal Palace Pursue Chelsea Defender Axel Disasi

Crystal Palace are closing in on a loan deal for Chelsea defender Axel Disasi, with Sky Sports News and talkSPORT both reporting that talks are advancing as the club scrambles to plug a major gap at the back.

Disasi, 28, has been frozen out at Stamford Bridge. He has not played for Chelsea since January 2025 and was pushed into the club’s so‑called “bomb squad” before heading out on loan to West Ham United for the second half of last season. Now Palace are ready to hand him a way back into the Premier League spotlight.

The timing is no coincidence. Palace have just lost Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea in a £52m deal, a transfer that ripped the heart out of their defence and left new manager Sage with a glaring problem in the centre of his back line.

Sage has been blunt about what he wants: experience, presence, and someone who can command a Premier League defence from day one.

“Yes. We need a player in this department, a player with a lot of games, if possible, in the Premier League,” he said at his Thursday press conference. “We need players, but we need a leader and that's why we need to wait a little bit to find a good one.”

That last line tells the story. Palace are not just stockpiling numbers. They are hunting for a voice, an organiser, someone who can replace the authority Lacroix took with him to west London.

Disasi fits that profile on paper. A full France international with top-flight experience in England and abroad, he offers the kind of physicality and know-how that Sage has been crying out for. For Chelsea, the move would clear space in a crowded defensive department and move on a player who has slipped firmly down the pecking order.

Sage, though, kept his distance when asked directly about the Chelsea man.

“He's a player from Chelsea, it's difficult for me to speak about a player of another club, but I hear the same noise as you,” he said, acknowledging the speculation without stepping over the line.

The noise is only getting louder. Palace need a leader. Disasi needs a home. If the deal lands, Selhurst Park will quickly find out whether a Chelsea outcast can become the cornerstone of Sage’s new era.