Boehly could re-sign the “extraordinary” promotion of Disasi at Chelsea

Enzo Maresca he took to it like a duck to water Chelseaimplementing a brand new system in such a short time, and leading them back into the top four Premier League. Chelsea won ten of their first 19 Premier League games, drew five and lost four times.

One key tenet of Maresca’s system is a man-to-man pressing scheme as they look to regain possession quickly and counter-press to withstand the pressure when they lose the ball themselves. This allows his side to pin down the opposition in their own half, taking control of the game.

In order to play this way, the personnel in the team must live up to the expectations of their role, as one weak link in the counter-press can destroy the entire operation as the team goes hunting for the ball.

When Chelsea get into position with the ball, their shape looks something like a 3-2-4-1, with one of their full-backs turning inside and the other full-back becoming a wide centre-back.

In the absence of Reece James and Malo Gust (who was rested against Ipswich), Axel Disasi he started in his lesser-known right-back position, becoming a right-sided centre-back in the back three with the ball, but his performance against Ipswich showed exactly why Maresca needs other solutions.

Axel Disasi at Chelsea

Chelsea signed Disasi from Monaco for a a fee of around £38.8 million in the summer transfer window of 2023, and the Frenchman will sign a six-year contract with the club. Since joining the Blues, the 26-year-old is made 59 appearancesscored five goals, recorded two assists and played a total of 4,871 minutes.

His best form at Chelsea came last season under Mauricio Pochettino, where the defensive line was deeper and his strengths better highlighted, defending his own box, winning aerial duels and blocking, with less responsibility in playing the ball in short build-up circles.

However, under Maresco, Disasi is tasked with stepping into more aggressive areas closer to the midfield to go man-to-man with his opposition player, cover larger spaces in retreat due to the greater involvement of the defensive lines, and must be more precise and intricate on the ball to keep play circulating. until the right opening appears.

It was a responsibility that cost Chelsea against Ipswich, Disasi committed himself to the tackle and lost it a little further up the pitch, then failed to recover, leaving a gap open for Liam Delap to find space behind Chelsea’s defense and win the penalty for the opener. Then again, for the second goal, Disasi made a mistake on the ball, misplacing the pass, allowing Ipswich to break through and score their second through ex-Blue Omari Hutchinson.

With Wesley Fofana currently injured, Chelsea have struggled to find the right balance within Maresca’s system, and a defensive addition on the right could help, not only to give the Italian more options, but also to replace the qualities lost when Fofana was out. side.

How Chelsea could replace Disasi

According to reports Sky Sport CHChelsea are among the teams offered the chance to sign Fikay Tomori from AC Milan in January, after the 27-year-old fell out of favor with the Italian giants. But Juventus also have a strong interest in the defender, with Thiago Motta keen to bring him to the Allianz.

The report states that Todd Boehly and Co would only potentially be interested in bringing Tomori back to the club if Disasi leaves in January, opening up a spot in the squad for the defender. The former Chelsea ace joined AC Milan from Stamford Bridge in 2021 on a fee of around £25 million.

Since leaving the Blues, Tomori has he made 157 appearances for Milanscoring seven goals, one assist and playing a total of 12,985 minutes. In his stay in London before leaving in 2021, the Englishman made 27 appearances for the senior team, scoring two goals and assisting one.

Comparison of Tomori and Disasi

Similar to Disasi, Tomori has also shown that he can play as a centre-back as well as a right-back, which is one thing Maresca appreciates, as he has players who can switch multiple positions, allowing him to make tactical changes to the game, based on the shape of the opposition. team.

Tomori has a skill set closer to Fofana than Disasa, possesses brilliant recovery pace, is comfortable defending in wide areas and also has the ability to carry the ball on the outside of the opposing defensive block.

Comparing the metrics of both defensemen this season, you can see that Maresca’s current option offers more in terms of offensive output, mostly from the corners with his 6-foot-4 frame and ability to finish crosses. He also has more progressive transfers per 90, but this is mainly down to his role allowing this, as Maresca tasks the wide centre-backs to explore wide areas if given space.

The Milan defender, on the other hand, completes more progressive passes per 90, more passes into the final third and has a high frequency of defensive actions, making more blocks, more interceptions and even winning more aerial duels (although his winning percentage is something lower in this respect).

This is not to say that Tomori is the most perfect, as he can sometimes be rash with the ball, make mistakes and try to force passes into the center at the wrong times.

However, if the price is right, “extraordinary” Tomori – as Milan boss Ivan Gazidis described him – would be a tricky business for the Blues, to replace Disasi with a better defender for Maresca’s system, especially in the absence of Fofana.