- Axel Disasi joined West Ham on-loan from Chelsea at the beginning of February
- West Ham take on Aston Villa at 2:15PM GMT today
- West Ham can climb out of the bottom three with a win
West Ham United have overseen a serious turnaround in 2026. At the turn of the year, Nuno Espirito Santo’s team were seven points adrift, now, thanks to a 1-1 draw with Manchester City last weekend, are level on points with safety.
Today, the Hammers can climb out of the relegation zone with a win over Aston Villa, as Nottingham Forest, who sit 17th, are playing Tottenham Hotspur, who sit 16th, completing the huge turnaround for West Ham.
One of the team’s biggest contributor’s in that time, has been Axel Disasi. The central defender joined on-loan from Chelsea and has been a revelation, with West Ham already looking into a permanent deal if they can stay up.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Disasi is keen to repay the faith as the Iron’s go into battle once again.
“I just try to do my maximum to make the fans happy and to win the games that we need,” said Disasi. “It’s just nice to be part of something. It’s nice to play, to be on the pitch, to celebrate wins with the guys and to train with the guys. This is the feeling that I have at the moment, and I want to keep it.
“As a player, it’s always nice to have this feeling considering the situation I’d come from [not playing at Chelsea], and I think that this love from the fans has helped me to perform on the pitch.
“We’re in a great moment now, and we just have to keep going like this. We know that Aston Villa are not in really good shape [having lost their previous three Premier League matches], but having played for them, I know there is a good atmosphere at Villa Park with great fans, so they will push them.
“I know the players over there, so they will try to do their maximum to win the game before the international break. It’s going to be a tough game, but I’m sure that we can do something.”
West Ham’s admiration for Disasi
There has been lot’s of praise for Disasi in his time at West Ham. El Hadji Malick Diouf labelled the 28-year-old a “beast” whilst Konstantinos Mavropanos has said it’s a pleasure t play alongside him.
Fellow Frenchman, Alphonse Areola, has joined in the praise, saying how happy he is for him.
“Axel has shown professionalism, hard work and his quality, and there were no doubts about how he was going to start and perform for the team. He’s shown it.
“We have already spent a great time together, and I know that his integration has been easier because he knew me, JC (Jean-Clair Todibo), and Soungou (Soungoutou Magassa).
“We’re in a good dynamic, and we’ve shown it week in, week out. We’re just enjoying showing what we can do and the performances we’ve had.
“Obviously, getting out of that relegation zone is most important. On top of that, we’re still in the FA Cup.
“We showed our solidity and togetherness against Manchester City, and now we’ve just got to keep going like that and keep that positive dynamic.”
