Crystal Palace have reached an agreement with Chelsea to sign Axel Disasi on a season-long loan, with the French defender now closing in on a move to Selhurst Park.
The 28-year-old is set to undergo his medical on Friday before completing his move. Palace will pay Chelsea a loan fee and cover Disasi’s salary for the duration of the deal.
The transfer gives Pierre Sage the experienced centre-back he has been looking for after Palace sold Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea earlier in the summer.
Disasi has been completely frozen out at Stamford Bridge and hasn’t played for the Blues since January 2025. He will now make another temporary move across London as he looks to get his career moving again.
Crystal Palace finally find their defensive addition
Sage had already admitted that Palace needed another centre-back ahead of the new season.
“Yes. We need a player in this department, a player with a lot of games, if possible, in the Premier League. We need players, but we need a leader and that’s why we need to wait a little bit to find a good one.”
The Palace boss was also asked directly about Disasi before the agreement was reached.
“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.”
The deal now appears to confirm those rumours.
Disasi arrives with plenty of Premier League experience. He has previously played for Chelsea, Aston Villa and West Ham, while this move will represent his third consecutive Premier League loan spell.
He spent the second half of the 2024/25 campaign at Aston Villa, making several important appearances as Unai Emery’s side pushed for European football.
Axel Disasi impressed despite West Ham relegation
The defender’s most recent loan spell came at West Ham.
Disasi joined the Hammers in February 2026 and remained there until the end of the season. Despite West Ham ultimately being relegated to the Championship, his individual performances were strong enough to attract interest in a permanent move.
West Ham explored the possibility of keeping him, but a deal couldn’t be reached following their relegation.
Palace have now beaten their London rivals to the signing.
For the Eagles, Disasi becomes the seventh arrival of Sage’s first summer in charge. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Oscar Mingueza have already strengthened the defence, while the Frenchman’s experience adds another option at centre-back.
Disasi will now look to establish himself at Selhurst Park after spending the last two seasons moving between Premier League clubs.
Crystal Palace travel to Everton for the season opener on Saturday.
