'Approach Made': West Ham move to sign 'brilliant' Chelsea player on Deadline Day

West Ham have made an approach for Chelsea defender Axel Disasi on Deadline Day as Graham Potter looks to strengthen his back line before the window closes.

The Hammers picked up a first win of the season with a 3-0 triumph over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. That has gone a long way in alleviating the pressure on under fire boss Potter but the need to improve the squad remains.

West Ham were beaten 3-0 by Sunderland on the opening weekend and then 5-1 by Chelsea at the London Stadium the week after. The club has already made the loan move of Jean-Clair Todibo permanent this summer but defence remains a priority area to improve.

West Ham make approach for Chelsea centre-back

Potter has added El Hadji Malick Diouf to his side from Slavia Prague but the 20-year-old is a full-back rather than centre-back. Soungoutou Magassa has also been snapped up from AS Monaco for £14 million and the 21-year-old can play at either centre-back or midfield.

It now looks as if West Ham are pushing to bring in Disasi from Chelsea in a late move. The Sun reporter Jack Rosser wrote on social media platform X: “West Ham have made an approach to Chelsea for Axel Disasi. Chelsea's demands over loan fee/wages currently above what West Ham are willing to pay. Also interest from Bournemouth.”

Disasi has been deemed surplus to requirements by Enzo Maresca and spent the back end of last season on loan at Aston Villa. The defender was the subject of a bid from Tottenham Hotspur in January when the north London club were in desperate need of defensive reinforcements due to injury issues.

Disasi labelled ‘brilliant’ defender by Jamie Carragher

Disasi arrived at Stamford Bridge from Monaco for £38.5 million in 2023 and has made 61 appearances for Chelsea. He has Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.

After a huge performance against Manchester City last year, Jamie Carragher heaped praise on Disasi. He said: "I can't remember a better defensive performance this season from a central defender. You're coming away to Manchester City and playing against the best striker in the world. He was brilliant, man of the match, definitely the best player on the pitch.

"That was the type of performance you'd see from defenders 15 or 20 years ago, it was a throwback with backs against the wall and throwing himself against everything. Talking about Chelsea, that was a John Terry type performance and I can't give any more praise than that."

In other news, Fabrizio Romano says West Ham are now chasing defender with 'personality and attitude' to replace Aguerd.