They
first met three years ago, when Axel Disasi joined Monaco and started
playing alongside Benoit Badiashile in defence. A partnership that worked so
well that Chelsea signed both players for a combined total of £75m in this
calendar year.
The two Frenchmen played together 65 times and Monaco won 60 per cent of
their games, with an average points-per-game ratio of 2.0. That's 76 points
across the whole of a 38-game Premier League season, enough to finish third
in the last campaign.
The two players, speaking to Sky Sports from the Stamford Bridge stands,
know full well what they can bring as a pair.
"On the pitch you've already seen we feel great together and it works," says
Disasi. "I think me and him compliment each other really well.
"I'm perhaps more of a duels player while he likes to receive the ball and
start up attacks. But it's not a case of him not being a duels player and me
not being a receiver of the ball. These things, they just work well."
So surely manager Mauricio Pochettino must surely be tempted to pick these
two players alongside each other in the heart of his Chelsea defence?
The Blues boss hasn't had the chance, however, with Badiashile - who moved
to Chelsea six months before Disasi - on the way back from a groin injury
sustained over the summer.
Given these two players know each other very well, this journalist asks each
defender to critique the other - strengths, weaknesses, things to improve.
"Axel, he's someone who is very stable and loves the duels," says
Badiashile. "He's good at receiving the ball, but because he does the duels
he does less of that, but he's still good at it.
"The thing he needs to work on though is his celebrations. He needs to be
much calmer, way too excited! Basically shows he doesn't have the knack for
scoring!"
Disasi is equally cheeky in his analysis of Badiashile. "Very good receiver
of the ball, intelligent, very good timing in the air. He needs to score
more goals though! More goals!"
One reason that could keep these two apart in the Chelsea backline is the
presence of Thiago Silva, still going at the age of 39 as a key figure in
the team's core.
Though while Silva has the experience and know-how, both Disasi and
Badiashile have time on their side - and they are using it to learn from the
Brazilian defender.
"Well he was a defender who I already watched a lot when he was at PSG,"
says Disasi. "Because he spent all that time at PSG and what he was doing
there had a huge impact on me. "Now being next to him in training, he's
someone who takes their role really seriously.
"He doesn't stop giving those little tips and he is always having an impact
on our game. That's a good thing and I think everyone at the club learns
from him as what he's done is something of a very high level."
For Badiashile, it's the opposite: "I ask him an enormous amount of
questions to the point where I must get on his nerves a little!
"It's because, as Axel said, he's so intelligent and he's someone
extraordinary for someone of his age. It's such an honour to work with
someone of that class and everyone who works with him benefits from him and
it helps us go to the maximum level."
Diasi and Badiashile are boosted by Silva being able to speak French through
his time at PSG and with compatriot Malo Gusto and Wes Fofana also part of
the Chelsea backline, surely the likes of Reece James and Ben Chilwell have
brushed up on their French?
"Reece [James] has tried but he hasn't really got the hang of it," says
Badiashile. "The English just speak English," adds Disasi.
Albeit not united by language, Chelsea are showing signs that they are
coming together as a team. Victory over Fulham on Monday Night Football, to
go with their Carabao Cup victory, has boosted morale at Stamford Bridge.
A lot has been said about what to expect from Chelsea this season, following
their 12th-placed finish last time out and more overhaul - on the pitch and
in the dugout - over the summer.
But one claim has been denied outright by Badiashile. "Transition? No. You
can't have a transition season at a club like Chelsea. It's impossible.
"Everything that is important about a club is winning. You hear things about
it being a year to get to know each other and develop together but no,
because you're at a club where the results come before anything. This still
isn't a transition season because there are still so many games to compete
for titles and I don't believe that.
"Everything that is important about a club is winning. You hear things about
it being a year to get to know each other and develop together but no,
because you're at a club where the results come before anything.
"This still isn't a transition season because there are still so many games
to compete for titles and I don't believe that."
And no surprise that this mentality has rubbed off on close friend Disasi,
with the summer signing even convinced when he first called Badiashile when
Chelsea came for his services.
"I had some questions about the group and he turned round straight away said
it's one of really good quality. And he told me about the project and even
though it is one, it's still a really good side.
"And since I've arrived, everything he's said has been true. Yeah, it's been
a little bit shaky at the start of the season but it is a project and I'm in
the same boat as him now as from everything I've seen since the start of the
season, it's been really encouraging.
"We're in a very ambitious club, the supporters are used to being champions
every year so we have to keep that in mind to stay sharp.
"You saw in the game against Fulham, it was a game we had under control. So
it's just a case of maintaining our levels between games. At the weekend we
have a game at Burnley, it's an important game to keep what we've done
going."
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