Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen want €45m defender – but Juventus now likely out of the race | OneFootball

About a week ago, there were two deals that looked very likely to happen this January at Chelsea. The first was the departure of Renato Veiga, which has now been all but concluded. We’re awaiting the official announcements, but his loan to Juventus until the end of the season has now been given the “here we go” treatment by Fabrizio Romano.

Then there was Axel Disasi. He was left out of our squad to face Bournemouth last week, which seemed to be a direct precursor to an impending departure. Multiple teams including Juventus, Bayer Leverkusen and Atalanta were all named as in the mix.

Yet since then there’s been little progress on the Disasi front. Not only was he back in the squad for the game against Wolves on Monday, he also came on as a sub in that game. How very confusing.

Chelsea must hope big teams put their money on the table

Lewis Hall battles for the ball with Axel Disasi at St James’ Park. (Photo by Ed Sykes/Getty Images)

It still seems likely Disasi goes – all the pieces are in place. The manager doesn’t rate him as a starter, there are plenty of other options in central defence now that Trevoh Chalobah has bene recalled and Josh Acheampong emerged as a versatile option to cover centrally or on the right.

We paid a hefty €45m for Disasi, and the amount we will get for him if we sell will only decline the more he sits on the bench. We can see why the sporting directors will be keen to shift him this month if possible.

You’d have to say that Juventus’ move for Veiga likely rules them out of the mix, but that still leaves Leverkusen and Atalanta, with Premier League teams also previously having been put in the picture.