Axel Disasi joined Chelsea in the summer of 2023 for a €45m fee, but has not made the impact that Chelsea fans, owners, or even himself were looking for.
Disasi started off quite well in his first season at the club, playing 31 Premier League matches and 2,581 minutes.
However, he managed to play only six Premier League matches in the 2024/2025 season before being sent on loan to Aston Villa, where he played only seven more.
In the 2025/2026 season, he has been captaining Chelsea’s U21s.
As the right centre-back looks to leave the club, a few teams are keeping an eye on him and may make a move.
Fabrizio Romano reported that Axel Disasi has been offered to Barcelona.
However, for such a deal to happen, it would only be on a permanent deal.
In this Axel Disasi scout report, we will take a look at his characteristics and how he could fit at Barcelona, as well as Liverpool or Inter Milan, where we believe Axel Disasi may be an even better fit.
Axel Disasi Stats
Axel Disasi ranks very highly in the percentage of aerial duels won, near the 98th percentile.
Still, he ranks very low in defensive duels per 90 and his win percentage, which is not an excellent sign for a central defender ranked in the single-digit percentiles.
He ranks quite well in accurate passes per 90 (97th percentile) and passes per 90 (86th percentile), but his progressive pass percentile is quite low.
As a central defender, you want someone who can break those lines and play forward-passing transitions, but the data show he is not that type of defender.
Axel Disasi Pizza Chart
Axel Disasi Aerial Duels
Axel Disasi has great timing in the air.
Not all defenders or tall players like him who stand at 1.91m have the timing for aerial duels, but he does.
It is not just a physical frame that matters; understanding the ball’s pace and estimating where to be are key.
The opponent player jumped way too early, and Disasi used a bit of his arms to push the opponent off, but not enough contact for it to be called a foul.
Not only is he great defensively in aerial duels, but Aston Villa planned their set-piece tactics in attack to have him take the first header, looking to play into space he would run into and be a threat.
Axel Disasi Defensive Duels
We can see why Axel Disasi ranks lower in defensive duel percentiles.
He gets too close to attackers in defensive duels, sticking man-to-man.
The problem is that, because of his tall frame, attackers can more easily twist and turn away from him.
It takes him longer to turn and catch up if the attacker is smaller and playing tricks.
That is why Virgil van Dijk does not like close man-to-man marking.
His frame is too big to get close to attackers, and he can get spun out.
As shown in the image below, he gets too close, and the attacker spins past him, easily getting by.
You can see it again; he is getting too close to an attacker who is too quick for him.
It is too often that he gets too close, and that little space is being exploited.
Axel Disasi needs to space himself out more from the attacker.
When the space between you and the attacker is greater, you have more time to assess the situation as he closes in, deciding whether to step in or stay in your position.
When your space is too short, any quick movements from the attacker put you off balance.
Axel Disasi Build-Up Play
Axel Disasi was not given much of a build-up role for the second half of the season with Aston Villa.
The majority of his passes were what you are seeing right here, just a back pass to the centre-back or a vertical pass to the winger.
There was nothing ambitious, no long pass attempts, and no passes into midfield to break the line.
At Chelsea, it was a different story, with more ability to play inward, but at Aston Villa, there was not much opportunity for that under Unai Emery.
When he is looking to play ambitiously, he has a good eye for breaking the opponent’s press.
He plays the ball with great pace and accuracy.
It is just that he was not given the opportunity to do so, which is why he tanked in those progressive pass percentiles in the previous radar map.
Axel Disasi Positioning
At right-back, Axel Disasi seems quite out of place in other scenarios, but as a centre-back, there is a far better representation of his skill and his reading of space and timing.
Very similar to Van Dijk, he tries to send the player outward and looks to close the gap when they take a heavy touch.
This is the environment in which he can succeed as a right centre-back.
At right-back, he seems out of place, does not time the duels well, and gets beaten too often.
Axel Disasi Body Positioning
Axel Disasi’s body positioning here ties back to the one-on-one duels we saw previously.
It is a misjudgment of timing.
He is placing his body in a scenario that does not give him time to defend other green spaces.
In this scenario, his entire chest is facing the outside of the field, so it is hard to defend your left when you are facing completely against it.
Does Axel Disasi Fit At Barcelona?
It is hard to see how Axel Disasi can fit at Barcelona and under Hansi Flick’s tactics.
They like to play a very disciplined high line and need great ball-playing centre-backs.
It would be hard for him to fit in on a technical level, but his physical attributes could make him a great defender in defensive and aerial duels, especially in a league like La Liga, where they are not often facing monstrous defenders.
To me, it would look like another Ronald Araujo situation.
He would play similarly to the Uruguayan and would put another halt in his career.
His defensive positioning is not always the best, and being put in arguably the world’s hardest high line would be difficult.
If he makes a move to Barcelona, I think the right-back spot would be better suited for him than right centre-back.
He could switch between right-back and right centre-back, or occasionally shift into a back three, but this does not look to be the ideal fit for his career.
Where Is Axel Disasi’s Ideal Club?
Given his comfort level in England over a few years, he has a very similar profile to Virgil van Dijk, especially in his frame and aerial duel defending.
He fits the type of centre-back that Liverpool are looking for and could be a possible replacement for the Dutch defender as he grows older.
Chelsea may make it hard for a rival like Liverpool to try to buy a player from them, so we head overseas.
The ideal place for him to fit in is Inter Milan.
Serie A is a very technical league, but it is not the fastest.
He can make up for his lack of great positioning in a slower-paced league and try to mould himself into their tactics for Champions League games as well.
Because Alessandro Bastoni is very good on the ball, he can be a great partner for him.
Although Axel’s ball playing is not as high, he can be the more defensive counterpart.
He has a similar profile to other Inter Milan defenders, making him a strong competitor for the other centre-back spots.
Conclusion
Although Axel Disasi has not quite found his feet in England, he is still a solid defender.
I will not be making any claims about him being world-class, but he is a very solid traditional defender who may not be the most technically gifted, but can add defensive strength to a team.
It will be interesting to see where he moves to.
He will be hoping for a January move so he can get some playing time and try to earn a call-up for the 2026 World Cup.
If he does not get any playing time, he will not be called up, so his agents are surely looking for a January transfer window move.
