Nuno’s Determination Could Land West Ham Their Best Defender

By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)

West Ham’s pursuit of Axel Disasi has a certain element of Groundhog Day about it and, personally, I don’t mind one bit.

Cast your mind back to January and the French centre-back was Nuno Espírito Santo’s number one defensive target. In fact, even after Disasi initially rejected the chance to move to the London Stadium, Nuno refused to give up on getting his man.

Many supporters were calling for West Ham to sign Charlie Cresswell instead, who was putting up excellent numbers for Toulouse at the time. But Espírito Santo never wavered in his belief that the Chelsea defender would eventually choose the Hammers.

And so it proved.

A deal was finally struck on transfer deadline day and, as they say, the rest is history. Disasi’s arrival was eventually confirmed by the club.

Nuno knows what he’s getting

Disasi was exceptional.

Given the player had been rotting away in Chelsea’s bomb squad for the best part of seven months, you’d never have known it. There were even suggestions his fitness levels would be an issue before his debut, but he quickly proved the doubters wrong. Early concerns over his condition soon disappeared once he pulled on a West Ham shirt.

The head coach put him straight into the starting XI and he was formidable for the remainder of the season.

Therefore, hearing that West Ham are chasing him once again, and haven’t been put off by his initial rejection, feels both heartening and strangely familiar.

We now appear to have gone from a situation where Disasi seemingly had no interest in playing Championship football to one where a deal has reportedly been agreed with Chelsea and the player is simply taking time to make up his mind.

A cut above Championship level

Make no mistake about it, any centre-back West Ham might realistically sign from the Championship won’t be as good as Axel Disasi.

He’s a two-cap France international and, at the very least, a proven Premier League defender.

The thought of him lining up alongside Konstantinos Mavropanos at the heart of West Ham’s defence next season should be enough to make every Hammer salivate and every other Championship supporter tremble.

I genuinely believe they’d form the backbone of the meanest defence in the division.