‘Stop playing him out of position’: Joe Cole tells Pochettino to stop using £39m Chelsea star in wrong position
Chelsea legend Joe Cole is not a fan of Axel Disasi playing at right-back.
Axel Disasi, whom Chelsea bought from AS Monaco for £38.8m (Sky Sports) during the summer, is naturally a centre-back. However, Mauricio Pochettino started him on the right side of his defence in the Blues’ 2-0 loss to Brentford.
And now Joe Cole, speaking on TNT Sports, says the position does not suit him.
However, For Cole, Disasi is not a good fit for the right-back position.
Discussing the Frenchman on TNT Sports, the former England international said: “Disasi has played right-back at times, which doesn’t suit him. He’s a good player, at centre-half done really well.”
Absolutely not, especially with James fit again and Malo Gusto no longer suspended. As Cole mentioned, it is not a role that suits him.
Disasi is quite a big defender who lacks pace, standing at 6 ft 3.
According to WhoScored, he is winning 2.4 aerial duels this season, the second-highest average in Pochettino’s squad. His strength is his ability in the air and that is where you want him, not on the flank chasing wingers.
You would now expect him to start alongside Thiago Silva in central defence when Chelsea take on Tottenham Hotspur tonight instead of playing at right-back.
With James and Gusto back, there really is no reason for Disasi to be starting at right-back, with Marc Cucurella another player who is probably more of a better fit for the position than the 25-year-old.
Cucurella is naturally a left-back and has played at right-back this season, though he has admitted that it has not been an easy transition. But if Chelsea are lacking their usual options in that position, the Spaniard should get the nod over Disasi.