Exclusive: Saudi club try to take advantage of defender’s situation with lowball €20m offer to Chelsea | OneFootball

Saudi Arabian club Neom SC are making a new push to sign Axel Disasi for a bargain €20m, Chelsea News have been informed by a source with knowledge of the situation.

With the transfer deadline in most European nations now passed, Disasi has missed out on his best options for leaving Chelsea where he is surplus to requirements, and his situation is getting desperate.

Saudi side return for second go at French defender

Axel Disasi in action for Chelsea. (Photo by Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images)

This isn’t the first time Neom have been suggested as a potential destination for Disasi – it was circulated earlier in the summer that they were interested, and while nothing came of it, the situation has changed now.

Disasi would prefer to remain in European football, but faces a pretty stark choice about his future now. A move to Neom is on the table – does he risk 6 months of sitting in the bomb squad at Cobham or does he take the chance he’s been given to play again?

“Neom have signed Alexandre Lacazette, Marcin Bulka, and Nathan Zézé this summer, they’re building a squad with strong French-speaking chemistry. Disasi fits the profile both tactically and culturally, and the club sees him as a key figure in their long-term strategy,” our source told us.

Disasi and Chelsea’s reluctant makes deal look difficult

It’s tough to know what the centre back might be thinking now after potential Premier League moves to Bournemouth and West Ham fell through late on and his Monaco switch was scuppered by Nicolas Jackson taking the last foreign loan slot.

We still suspect that he would rather go and play in Turkey if the right offer arrives, but at this point anything is possible if he starts to get desperate. Chelsea are keen to sell him, and Neom’s low offer reflects the Blues’ and the players’ desperation to make a move happen this summer.

With the club offering less than the €30m the Blues would want and the player not sold on a move to the Middle East, this looks unlikely to go anywhere for now.