Axel Disasi
Why Man Utd are looking to sign French defender
I’m going to be honest here and say that I’d never heard of him until this transfer window. I mean no disrespect to him but other than the big names, I’m very limited on my knowledge of the wider football world. I am no scout who goes around looking for hidden gems.
So, is Disasi one of these?
Axel Disasi: Brief history
At 25-years-old, the French international currently plays for AS Monaco in Ligue 1 as a centre-back. His career began for Paris FC B back in 2015 before moving up the ranks to their first team.
Axel then made the switch to Reims B in 2016 before playing for their first team until 2020 which then saw him move to his current club of Monaco where he’s played 129 times for the club, 49 of those have come this season. Playing this amount of games in a season is already a positive as it shows that Axel is regularly available. After the season we had last season playing 62 matches, having another player who can play the majority of games is a huge bonus.
The fact that he was signed by a certain Paul Mitchell also tells one that there is some quality with this player. You don’t get recruited by him if you don’t have something about you. Mitchell is exactly the type of recruiter we’d want at Old Trafford. Imagine Paul and ten Hag working together 👌. If only 😔.
Pretty short career thus far but Axel still has a lot of time to go.
Strengths
One of the major things that ten Hag wants his side to do is be able to play with ease out from the back. This would also explain why a new goalkeeper is so sort after.
Disasi at CB would provide the ideal player for this style of play. In his own words, Axel says that he tries to play out from the back cleanly but to also have fun on the pitch. Following the orders of his coaches’ is also an aspect of his game that he considers a stength. He is a big guy which also means that he is quite physical, something that we know one needs to play in the Premier League.
The Monaco defender also works for the team and uses his defensive strength to get him the advantage. At 190cm tall, Disasi is very good in the air. In the past season, Axel has won more (2.54) aerial duels per 90 than both Varane (2.22) and Martinez (1.27).
Other strengths of his include his anticipation, blocking and concentration.
“My size is an advantage, I am comfortable in the air and in my sense of anticipation.
“I also try to play the ball out from the back cleanly, to have fun on the pitch and above all to follow the coach’s instructions. I’m a player who works for the team and I hope to bring my defensive strength to bear” — Disasi during a Monaco press conference, via United In Focus.
Final Thoughts
I can see why Erik ten Hag would want Axel Disasi at United. He fits the profile to a tee in that he can do basically all that the United boss wants in his centre-back.
With the strengths he has and the stats to back it up, he is more than capable of pushing Varane and Martinez for a first team spot let alone being a backup. The fact that he is also young allows him room to improve and under a manager like Erik, there are few better. With Varane at the club as well, he could teach a lot to Disasi and who knows, maybe Axel could be a future replacement for Raphael 🤷♂️.
Axel Disasi, yes or no?
#MUFC #GGMU #DISASI #VARANE #MARTINEZ #CMONUNITED #GLAZERSOUT
