Rio Ferdinand has sent a warning to Axel Disasi. He said to Disasi that if Thiago Silva stays at Chelsea, he may not play next season. Disasi joined Chelsea from Monaco last summer for £38.5 million and appeared in 22 games. Due to injuries in the defense under Mauricio Pochettino, he filled in at both centre-back and right-back. Meanwhile Rio’s brother Anton said that Disasi can be successful at Chelsea.
Anton Ferdinand on Axel Disasi
Anton Ferdinand says Chelsea’s Axel Disasi is a lot like ex-Premier League player Kolo Toure. Chelsea signed Disasi from Monaco last summer, which surprised many people.
The 25-year-old defender has played a lot in his first season at Stamford Bridge, either as a center-back or right-back. He seems more at ease when he plays as a center-back, which is his favorite position. He has been in 23 games in various competitions this season and scored in his first game against Liverpool in August.
Anton Ferdinand said Disasi is like Kolo Toure, who used to play for Arsenal, Manchester City, and Liverpool. Toure won a lot during his career, but he was often in the shadow of defenders like Sol Campbell and Vincent Kompany. Toure may not get the recognition he deserves for his career. Ferdinand compared Disasi’s tough and sometimes risky defending to Toure’s style.
“You know Kolo Toure was a fantastic defender, aggressive, but always had to make last-ditch tackles because he was in the wrong position… I think he’s (Disasi) very much aggressive, front-foot, like how Kolo started. I think there’s potential in there,” Anton said.
Anton Ferdinand: "I think Disasi… you know like Kolo Toure, in terms of a fantastic defender, aggressive, but always had to make last-ditch tackles because he was in the wrong position or something went wrong somewhere else. I think he [Disasi] is aggressive, front-foot, like… pic.twitter.com/O3izpBRfoL
— Vince™ (@Blue_Footy) January 9, 2024
Meanwhile, Pochettino admits that Disasi has had a hard time because Chelsea hasn’t been consistent this season. However, he firmly believes that the 25-year-old will keep improving.
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“He still has the potential to improve, we are waiting for more, but he’s doing well,’ Pochettino said last week. It’s not easy to arrive in the Premier League and perform in a team that is in a process of building. The defensive players always struggle a little bit more than the offensive players in that situation. We are happy with him because he can play centre-back but also can help the team at right-back because of injuries, like we’ve had with Reece [James] and Malo [Gusto]. He’s a player we knew and it was a bit lucky, because maybe another coach and coaching staff wouldn’t have known that he can play right-back,” Pochettino said.
“When we were at Paris Saint-Germain he played one game against us with Monaco when he was on the side of the defence, playing against Kylian Mbappe. We saw that he could perform as a right-back, but he’s a centre-back who I think can play on both sides. We are so happy because his adaptation has been really good. He suffered a little bit in the beginning, which is normal, but he’s a player who has the potential to improve more,” he added.
