West Ham Miss Out As Disasi Chooses Crystal Palace

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

According to the London Standard, Axel Disasi looks set to reject the chance of a return to West Ham and instead join Crystal Palace.

If that’s the case, then perhaps we’ve just had something of a reality check.

Let’s be fair, West Ham have actually had it pretty good since relegation.

Jarrod Bowen has committed his future to the club, Taty Castellanos now appears increasingly likely to stay and, as Claret & Hugh has reported previously, there remains optimism that Konstantinos Mavropanos will also remain at Rush Green.

That simply doesn’t happen very often to clubs dropping into the Championship.

Reality Has Finally Arrived

Ipswich Town supporters won’t need reminding what usually happens.

Just twelve months ago they lost Liam Delap and Omari Hutchinson as Premier League clubs came calling. That’s normally the reality facing relegated sides.

Unfortunately, it looks as though we’ve now experienced a little bit of that reality ourselves.

Disasi was outstanding during his loan spell at West Ham and I’ve got little doubt that a partnership alongside Mavropanos would have been the best centre-back pairing in the Championship.

As difficult as it is to accept, Crystal Palace are currently a far more attractive proposition.

They’re a Premier League club, they’ve won the FA Cup, Conference League, they’re playing European football and, from a player’s perspective, it’s an easy decision to understand.

Time For Koppen To Earn His Corn

Fair play to the West Ham owners for trying to land Nuno Espírito Santo’s top defensive target.

Sometimes, though, you simply lose out to a club in a stronger position.

That’s where having a recruitment director such as Nils Koppen becomes so important.

With Disasi seemingly off the table, it’s now time for Koppen to dust off his digital dossier and identify a centre-back capable of having a similar impact.

If his reputation is justified, this is exactly the sort of challenge he was brought to West Ham to solve.