Chelsea have completed the signing of defender Axel Disasi from AS Monaco on a six-year contract for £38.5m this summer, the club has announced.
The Blues were left a defender short ahead of their preseason tour of the USA when French centre-back Wesley Fofana suffered a season-ending knee injury in training. Manager Mauricio Pochettino used academy graduates Bashir Humphreys and Alfie Gilchrist during the tour, but made it clear that he wanted to sign a new defender this summer.
Chelsea moved quickly to sign French international Disasi, who had been approached by both Manchester United and Newcastle United earlier in the window. They leveraged on their relationship with the French club which saw them sign Benoit Badiashile in January to snap up his former central defensive partner.
Disasi, 25, is set to compete with Thiago Silva, Levi Colwill, Badiashile and Trevoh Chalobah for a starting berth this season. The French international played 130 Ligue 1 games before joining Chelsea and has a stellar fitness record, never before missing a match through injury.
Chelsea will look to regain their standing as one of the best sides in the Premier League after a dismal season in the league that saw them finish in 12th place in 2022-23.
