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When it was confirmed in mid-July that Wesley Fofana would face a significant period on the sidelines owing to an ACL injury, Chelsea started to be linked with a host of centre-backs to replace the Frenchman. Harry Maguire was a reported target, so too was Blues academy product Marc Guehi. However, on Sunday evening, reports started to circulate that Chelsea had an agreement in principle with Monaco for towering France international Axel Disasi. The 25-year-old has been on Premier League radars in recent months, with Manchester United and Newcastle both credited with an interest in the Gonesse-born centre-back. Chelsea have since taken the plunge on the defender, bringing him in for €45m. That in itself serves to highlight the extent of Fofana's injury, but even so; Chelsea couldn't afford to pass up the chance to secure Disasi's services. Even with his compatriot available, Mauricio Pochettino's top quality options at the heart of the defence are thin on the ground. Levi Colwill, who is set to pen a new deal at Stamford Bridge, should go on to become a mainstay in the Blues backline, but a partner for the 20-year-old was key. Trevoh Chalobah isn't quite of the standard expected for a club seeking to return to the Champions League, while the west London outfit can't rely on 38-year-old Thiago Silva to manage the backline for another season, particularly in a four-man defence. Benoit Badiashile will return sooner rather than later, but he'll need some time to get up to speed under Pochettino having missed much of pre-season due to a hamstring issue. For the right-sided centre-back role, Disasi can be viewed as a superb acquisition. Standing at 6ft 3in, the France international maximises his stature having won the second most aerial duels (97) of defenders in Ligue 1 last season. And he was consistent in beating opponents in headed battles, too. Of the 143 players to contest 50 or more aerial duels, Disasi's aerial success rate of 70.3% ranked ninth in the division. Considering Chelsea returned an aerial success rate of just 52.1% last season, Disasi's dominance in the air will certainly boost that return. There's also a willingness to get the ball forward quickly from deep. Not only did Chelsea struggle for goals last season, hitting the back of the net 38 times in the Premier League, but they were compounded by an inability to put an opponent to the sword at speed. No team scored fewer counter-attacking goals than Chelsea (1) in England's top tier last term, and even that came in a 4-1 defeat at Manchester United back in May. Disasi, though, is one willing to pick a pass from range, and does so to a decent standard to help quickly turn defence into attack. Indeed, 141 accurate long balls ranked 14th of outfield players in France's top tier last term, and this in itself played a part in Monaco scoring seven counter-attacking goals; only champions PSG (10) netted more. Dominant in the air and sound with the ball at his feet, Disasi seems the perfect fit for a Chelsea side that will seek to control matches where possible. Another key reason behind the drive to sign Disasi, though, will have been his versatility. Primarily a centre-back, he’ll line up at the heart of the defence with everyone fit in Pochettino's 4-2-3-1 setup, but players who can operate in multiple positions are a precious commodity in the modern game. As such, Disasi's ability to play at right-back as well as centre-back will have been another reason behind Chelsea's interest. The departure of Cesar Azpilicueta over the summer means the Blues needed another defender to operate in a couple of roles, and a defensive-minded right-back is a handy squad option. Pochettino has also previously used a three-man backline during his time at Tottenham, a system that does suit the full-backs at his disposal, so the ability to switch between two formations is ideal. Disasi's flexibility will help Pochettino's decision making when it comes to tinkering with his side, particularly in-play, and it cannot be overstated how important this positional interchangeability is for Chelsea. Given how often managers tinker with their setup across the 90 minutes, the potential ability to swap between a four-man and a three-man defence will aid the Blues, not just on a week-by-week basis, but across the season. There are concerns over the defensive side to his game, particularly when up against direct attackers in one-on-one situations, yet from an offensive perspective; Disasi will benefit Chelsea. Given the right protection in front of him, Disasi should be given the crucial time on the ball to help set the Blues on the front foot. Alongside ball-playing star-in-the-making Colwill, Chelsea will have a solid centre-back foundation to help in their quest to return to the Champions League. Read More Chelsea and Barcelona push for Kylian Mbappe player-plus-cash transfer deals Football rumours: Tottenham name Harry Kane price as Bayern Munich prepare bid Chelsea have a Conor Gallagher problem and Tottenham could be the perfect solution Chelsea agree fee with Monaco for France international defender Axel Disasi Football rumours: Chelsea make revised offer for Brighton’s Moises Caicedo England’s attack goes from tired to inspired as new-look front three devastates China

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Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc believes “it will be very difficult” for the chasing pack to catch Red Bull before 2026. Red Bull have won all 12 races so far this season, with Max Verstappen claiming 10 victories and Sergio Perez two. Leclerc, who has not won a race since last July in Austria, is an astonishing 215 points behind runaway F1 championship leader Verstappen in the standings – and was pessimistic when asked how long it would take for Ferrari and the rest to match Red Bull. “They [Red Bull] have a really big margin,” he said on Thursday, ahead of this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix. “It’s going to be very, very difficult to catch them before the change of regulations.” Formula 1 is not set to change its regulations until 2026, when cars will have more electrical power and run on a new carbon-free fuel. Red Bull, inspired by their design guru Adrian Newey, have nailed this current set of “ground-effect” regulations and are cruising to another double success this year, having coasted to last season’s drivers’ and constructors’ championship as well. “Normally when we see a team dominating, it was qualifying and the race,” Leclerc added. “But now, for some reason with Red Bull, it’s much more in the race than in qualifying. The gaps are much bigger in the race than in qualifying and that’s why we are all working towards our race pace, because Red Bull is just so far ahead. “There’s still a lot of work to do. We have some developments in the next few races that can help us do a step forward.” Ferrari are currently fourth in the constructors’ championship, five points behind Aston Martin in third and 56 points behind Mercedes in second. The Scuderia, under new boss Fred Vasseur, have struggled to consistently get to grips with their 2023 car – a point acknowledged by Leclerc. “With this car, we have some unexpected surprises because they are such sensitive cars that a small change can have a big influence. And hopefully it will be the case for us.” Verstappen has a 125-point lead in the championship to team-mate Sergio Perez heading into his home grand prix this weekend, with 10 races remaining this season. Read More Lewis Hamilton gives blunt response to Felipe Massa’s legal action over 2008 F1 title Daniel Ricciardo is back - and this time he wants to go out on top F1 Dutch Grand Prix: When is practice on Friday in Zandvoort? Lewis Hamilton gives blunt response to Felipe Massa’s legal action over 2008 title F1 takes steps to prevent use of flares at Dutch Grand Prix F1 Dutch Grand Prix: When is practice on Friday in Zandvoort?