West Ham United supporters could be forgiven for resisting the urge to fall in love with a loan player, but it will come as a boost that Axel Disasi is already planning for life beyond May at the London Stadium.
Sources with knowledge of the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, say the 27-year-old centre-back is open to joining West Ham United on a permanent deal if the club avoids relegation from the Premier League. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are out the relegation zone and two points above 18th-place Tottenham Hotspur, with six league games remaining.
On deadline day in January, Disasi joined on a straight loan from Chelsea. The Blues opted against including an option to buy with the expectation that Disasi’s value would increase, but West Ham plan on holding further talks at the end of the season. Other European suitors have closely monitored Disasi’s form, but the defender is enjoying his time in east London and finds the club a close-knit family. Disasi, who joined Chelsea from Monaco in the summer of 2023, has three years remaining on his contract.
The five-time France international was in desperate need of a fresh start, having last featured for his parent club against Wolverhampton Wanderers on January 20, 2025. As previously reported by The Athletic, Disasi trained separately from Chelsea’s first team at their Cobham training ground in a group otherwise known as the “the bomb squad”, and featured for their under-21s.
Disasi in action during West Ham’s match at Anfield (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Since making his debut in the 2-0 victory at Burnley in February, Disasi has formed a solid defensive partnership alongside Konstantinos Mavropanos, his stock has risen and he has aided West Ham’s quest of retaining their top-flight status. Before Disasi’s arrival, West Ham were porous defensively, having conceded 49 goals in the league and only kept one clean sheet (against Nottingham Forest on August 31).
But across Disasi’s last eight league games, Nuno’s side have kept clean sheets against Wolves, Fulham, Bournemouth and Burnley. Barring the uncharacteristic 5-2 away loss to Liverpool, West Ham’s defensive record has improved significantly. First-team coach Paco Jemez, who was appointed in January, has also played a big role. Moments after West Ham’s 4-0 victory over Wolves last Friday evening, Disasi could be seeing enthusiastically hugging Nuno. The head coach was initially unaware who it was, before turning to smile at the centre-back. The pair’s special bond runs deep.
Nuno convinced Disasi to join West Ham over Italian side Milan. Before the defender signed, he wanted two assurances from Nuno: he would not be played out of position and that he be a regular in the team. The need for reassurance stemmed from Disasi’s loan at Aston Villa in February 2025. He made 10 appearances across all competitions under Unai Emery, but did not always play in his preferred centre-back position. Disasi found it frustrating and wanted to avoid it happening again. Nuno has not gone against his word.
“He joined high on confidence and believed in himself,” Nuno said in Friday’s pre-match press conference, looking ahead to Monday’s game against Crystal Palace. “Believe me, Axel was never low on confidence. He is a very positive boy. He arrived with the commitment to help and was very aware of the situation that we are. In life, you go through ups, downs, disappointments, happiness, so it’s the reality of life. It’s not about being written off and having a point to prove to anyone.
“We have a big mission and (training this week) has been good. We’re working hard, focused and getting ready for Monday. I don’t think there is a risk of complacency. It’s positive, helps in terms of preparation and we are ready for what we have to do. Playing last doesn’t change. We have only to focus on ourselves. The big challenge that we have ahead of us, which is to sustain our level of performance, which is very hard. This is the big challenge, to see if we can go not just in parts of our games, but for the whole 90 minutes. We have a big challenge ahead of us.”
Nuno convinced Disasi to snub Milan and move to east London (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
West Ham rank fifth in the form table, having yielded 18 points from their last 11 games. The upturn in performances highlights the team’s potential for next season. When Nottingham Forest avoided relegation under Nuno in 2023-24, they finished seventh the following season and secured European qualification. Signing Disasi on a permanent deal, keeping hold of club captain Jarrod Bowen, Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville will help their chances of being more familiar with the top half of the table. Until then, there is an important task at hand for Disasi and co.
“I just try to do my maximum to make the fans happy and to win the games that we need,” Disasi told West Ham’s official website in March. “It’s just nice to be part of something. It’s nice to play, to be on the pitch, to celebrate wins with the guys and to train with the guys. This is the feeling that I have at the moment, and I want to keep it. As a player, it’s always nice to have this feeling, considering the situation I’d come from (not playing at Chelsea), and I think that this love from the fans has helped me to perform on the pitch.
“We’re in a great moment now, and we just have to keep going like this.”