Despite Manchester United links with Monaco defender Axel Disasi, French football expert Jonathan Johnson is not convinced he’d be the ideal signing for Erik ten Hag’s side right now.
The 25-year-old looks a fine talent who could have an impact in the Premier League, but Johnson has suggested he might be a better fit for someone a little further down the table in England’s top flight.
Although Disasi is impressing in Ligue 1 and looks like he could attract plenty of interest in the summer transfer window, Johnson wrote in his exclusive CaughtOffside column that he doesn’t consider the France international to be at quite the same level of other similar defensive players such as Ibrahima Konate at Liverpool.
Man Utd would surely do well to make some changes in defence due to the lack of impact from players like Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof, but they could perhaps do well to consider alternatives to Disasi.
“Monaco defender Axel Disasi is an interesting player who’s starting to attract links with the likes of Manchester United ahead of the summer. He’s in that kind of ‘finishing school’ phase that Aurelien Tchouameni was in when he was there, and that someone like Wesley Fofana is in with Chelsea right now,” Johnson said.
“He’s now made the breakthrough at international level and that’s helped get him onto the radar of a number of big clubs. For someone like United, I think he would add competition to their squad, but I do have questions about whether or not he’d be the best fit for Erik ten Hag’s side and where they are now. It would be a fairly decent fit, but given where they want to be going, and getting back to under Ten Hag in the near future, I do question if Disasi would be the best option for them.
“Don’t get me wrong – he’s a strong talent with plenty of good attributes, and the potential to improve, but I wouldn’t rank him alongside the very best talents in that position right now, compared to say Saliba, Fofana, and someone like Ibrahima Konate at Liverpool, or Dayot Upamecano at Bayern, I wouldn’t put him in the same sort of category as those guys.
“I think Disasi will definitely be coveted by Premier League clubs in the future, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it ended up being someone a level below Manchester United, one of those clubs aspiring to get it into the Champions League reckoning.”