Rio Ferdinand has shared his worry about a Chelsea player who might face difficulties next season should Thiago Silva stay at the club.
The former Manchester United star defender suggested that Axel Disasi might risk losing his spot at Stamford Bridge in the upcoming season if Silva continues.
Disasi has made 22 appearances for Chelsea since his £38.5 million move from Monaco last summer and has played at both centre-back and right-back under Mauricio Pochettino due to injuries in defence.
Meanwhile, Thiago Silva’s future at Chelsea remains uncertain as the 39-year-old’s contract is due to expire at the end of the season.
The Brazilian remains one of Chelsea’s standout performers and Ferdinand feels he should partner Levi Colwill,
who has primarily played as a left-back this season, if he extends his stay at Stamford Bridge for another campaign.
Ferdinand Reveals when asked about Disasi’s start at Chelsea.
‘I don’t think he gets to play.’
‘Next season I’d keep Thiago Silva still and I’d play Colwill left centre-back.’
However, Ferdinand’s brother Anton, who made over 200 Premier League appearances during his spells at West Ham, Sunderland and QPR, believes Disasi has shown plenty of potential at Chelsea.
‘I think Diasi… you know like Kolo Toure, in terms of a fantastic defender, aggressive, but always had to make last-ditch tackles,
because he ws in the wrong position or something went wrong somewhere else,’ Anton Ferdinand said.
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‘I think he [Disasi] is aggressive, front-foot, like how Kolo started. I think there’s potential in there.’
Meanwhile, Pochettino concedes that Disasi has struggled due to Chelsea’s inconsistency this season but is adamant that the 25-year-old will continue to develop.
‘He still has the potential to improve, we are waiting for more, but he’s doing well,’ Pochettino said last week.
‘It’s not easy to arrive in the Premier League and perform in a team that is in a process of building.
The defensive players always struggle a little bit more than the offensive players in that situation.
‘We are happy with him because he can play centre-back but also can help the team at right-back because of injuries, like we’ve had with Reece [James] and Malo [Gusto].
He’s a player we knew and it was a bit lucky, because maybe another coach and coaching staff wouldn’t have known that he can play right-back.
‘When we were at Paris Saint-Germain he played one game against us with Monaco when he was on the side of the defence, playing against Kylian Mbappe.
We saw that he could perform as a right-back, but he’s a centre-back who I think can play on both sides.
‘We are so happy because his adaptation has been really good.
He suffered a little bit in the beginning, which is normal, but he’s a player who has the potential to improve more.’
