Chelsea are preparing for the summer exit of Kalidou Koulibaly and have identified AS Monaco centre-back Axel Disasi as his potential replacement, according to RMC Sport journalist Fabrice Hawkins.
The Senegalese only joined the Blues from Napoli last summer and he featured in 32 games across all competitions, but he is expected to be sold with Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal keen on him.
Chelsea are desperate to balance the books and will readily sell Koulibaly, with plans in place to bring in a replacement in Disasi after the Frenchman caught their eyes.
❗️Monaco va discuter à partir de 40 M€ pour Axel Disasi
🔹Manchester United qui n’a pas encore fait d’offre a de l’avance. Erik ten Hag va s’entretenir avec le joueur prochainement
🔹Arsenal et Chelsea qui s’apprête à perdre Kalidou Koulibaly, sont intéressés par le défenseur pic.twitter.com/Krq93MJ7LV
— Fabrice Hawkins (@FabriceHawkins) June 21, 2023
However, the Stamford Bridge club are not the only ones keen on the 25-year-old, with Arsenal and Manchester United also interested in bringing him to the Premier League.
Red Devils manager Erik Ten Hag is expected to begin talks with Disasi, with Monaco demanding €40 million from suitors for the services of the France international as they need to make sales this summer after their failure to qualify for Europe.
Chelsea also failed to qualify for any continental competition, which could see the Frenchman opt to join Arsenal or Man United instead, and they may need to start looking elsewhere.
L’Équipe reported earlier this month that Disasi has chosen to move to the Old Trafford club, but they are yet to table an offer, which could hand the Gunners and the Blues a chance.
The former Reims star was a key player for the Principality club last term, starting 37 of the 38 Ligue 1 games he featured in and weighing in with three goals and three assists, and he could be the perfect Koulibaly replacement Chelsea desire.
Disasi also scored thrice and assisted once in ten appearances across the Champions League and Europa League, and he would love to keep playing in the competition next term to boost his chances with the French national team ahead of the European Championship next year.
Man Utd will fancy their chances of landing the Monaco star, but both Arsenal and Chelsea are likely to pull out all the stops to bring him to London and bolster their defence.
Apart from being a real threat in both boxes, Disasi’s versatility has also caught the eyes of his suitors as he can play as a right-back, and it will be intriguing to see who wins the race for his services amid the aforementioned trio.
