Fabrizio Romano says Chelsea player has 'agreed personal terms' with Premier League club

One of Chelsea’s players has reportedly agreed a deal with one of the club’s Premier League and top four rivals. The Blues are now in the midst of an intense battle for a top four spot, with Sunday’s defeat to Manchester City seeing them fall to sixth place, behind Manchester City and Newcastle United.

City have been bolstered by a number of new signings this month, while Chelsea have stuck with what they have, but there is still time remaining in the January transfer window, with a week to go until the window slams shut.

Much of Chelsea’s focus has been on offloading unhappy players this month, but Enzo Maresca has not ruled out making a late signing, with an attacking signing the most likely. But there are still plenty of departures still to sort out, with Ben Chilwell, Carney Chukwuemeka, Renato Veiga and Cesare Casadei all likely depart on a mix of loan and permanent deals.

Another player who could depart is defender Axel Disasi, who has struggled to convince so far since arriving from Monaco for around £40million in 2023. The 26-year-old is under contract until 2029, but having made only six league appearances all season, it seems as though the centre-back could be shipped out, with a loan deal most likely.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Disasi has already agreed a deal with Villa, though the clubs remain in conversations over a deal. He tweeted: “EXCLUSIVE: Axel Disasi has agreed on personal terms with Aston Villa. Disasi wants to join Villa despite interest from more clubs around Europe after direct talk with Unai Emery, crucial to get the green light. Deal now up to Chelsea and Villa to reach full agreement.”

That update does not include details over whether it is a loan or permanent, deal, but the former is more likely. The conundrum for Chelsea is that Disasi has not convinced, is on a long contract and he is already 26 years of age. That throws up real questions over whether the centre-back has a long-term future at the club.

Disasi said of his role in the Chelsea squad back in December: "We all know that a lot of people were talking about (Chelsea) buying players. But when you see now, maybe we did right! Let's keep going like this (our form) and see what we can win at the end of the season. As a player, we have people here who have to think about it (the squad size). When you see the results now, they did good because we can compete in both competitions. It's good to have this amount of players and to fight everyday to win everyday.

"As a player, as a competitor, we like to play every game. But sometimes we have to be clever. We have a big squad. When you have the opportunity to play, you have to perform and show your quality. We've done well."