Axel Disasi is the one of the few remaining players on the US tour who we haven’t seen in action on the pitch.
The defender had surgery at the start of the summer, and has been slowly working his way back to fitness. Despite not being able to feature yet, it’s been important for the former Monaco man to be around the squad and the new manager in order to become more familiar with his style and demands, as Disasi explained in an interview on the club’s website today:
“You won’t see the injured players in full training but we are still working very hard on our side. We do particular stuff. Sometimes I do stuff a defender has to do in relation to the way the manager wants to play, so when I come back with the team, I’m not lost.
“I have done two or three sessions with the team now, and he showed me the way he wants us to play from the back.
“The idea of the coach is very clear; I think I will learn very quickly. He wants to hold on to the football with a lot of possession and these are the things I like. I am completely ready to do this, and I will enjoy playing in this way.”
Defender knows the pressure is on
For all of his confidence that he is “completely ready to do this,” Disasi must know that he’s ranked behind almost every other central defender on the books in terms of his ability on the ball. Correctly or not, Levi Colwill, Benoit Badiashile, Tosin Adarabioyo and even new boy Renato Veiga are seen as better on the ball than the Frenchman.
Of course this is partly just some anti big man bias, more to do with how bigger and taller players look on the ball, but there’s plenty of evidence too. That horror own goal he scored last season against Leicester in the FA Cup will live long in the memory, fairly or unfairly.
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