Axel Disasi, we were told, didn’t want to come to West Ham. The Chelsea ‘bomb squad’ founder member harboured greater ambition than a relegation fight at the foot of the Premier League table and had in previous windows been linked with holding out for a move to AC Milan, as Gonzo wrote back in February.
The ‘Chelsea colossus’ as he’s been christened (by me at any rate) has proved an inspirational loan signing, reinforcing West Ham’s defence and giving the club at least a fighting chance of avoiding the drop with three clean sheets since his arrival.
So – how come he ended up at West Ham and not the sunnier, more cosmopolitain arena of AC Milan’s San Siro Stadium? A new report from Italian footie news site sempremilan.com suggests that Disasi, in the end, was left with little choice:
“AC Milan were quite open to making a move for Axel Disasi in January. Yet, the Frenchman did not arrive at Milanello…
The player was repeatedly approached by the Rossoneri, who analysed the deal until the final days of the transfer window.
“In the end, however, the management decided to reject the Frenchman’s arrival in order to give maximum confidence and space to De Winter, also considering the versatility of Bartesaghi.”
So clearly Disasi had been holding out until the very end of the window for his move to Milan, (who can blame him) but faced Hobson’s choice on deadline day and signed for the Hammers when the Milan deal was off the table.
No wonder the PR photo (above) showed him not looking best pleased to be at at London Stadium on deadline day – after the dream of heading to Milan had died. To his credit he has been the commensurate professional, and it would appear Milan’s loss is most definitely West Ham’s gain.
Good to know he is shrewd and has ambition. Likely to stay if we want him, as long as our ambition matches his.