Crystal Palace Pursue Loan for Chelsea Defender Axel Disasi

Crystal Palace are pushing hard to bring Chelsea defender Axel Disasi to Selhurst Park on loan, with talks advancing as the club scrambles to plug a major hole at the heart of their defence.

The 28-year-old has been frozen out at Stamford Bridge since January 2025, banished to the club’s so‑called “bomb squad” before being shipped out to West Ham United for the second half of last season. Now Palace are ready to offer him a way back into the Premier League spotlight.

The timing is no coincidence. Maxence Lacroix’s £52m move to Chelsea has ripped a key pillar out of Palace’s back line, and the hierarchy have moved quickly to replace like with like: a powerful, experienced centre-back with top-flight pedigree.

New manager Sage has made that need brutally clear.

“Yes. We need a player in this department, a player with a lot of games, if possible, in the Premier League,” he said in his press conference on Thursday, underlining just how thin his options are at centre-back. “We need players, but we need a leader and that's why we need to wait a little bit to find a good one.”

Disasi fits that profile. A seasoned defender, a presence in both boxes, and a player who has already ridden the highs and lows of life at a big club.

Sage, though, chose his words carefully when pressed directly on the Chelsea man.

“He's a player from Chelsea, it's difficult for me to speak about a player of another club, but I hear the same noise as you,” he admitted, acknowledging the growing speculation without stepping over the line.

Palace want leadership. Disasi wants minutes. Chelsea want their fringe players off the books.

If the deal lands, everyone gets exactly what they need—except, perhaps, the strikers who have to face him.