{"id":2944,"date":"2026-05-01T20:36:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T20:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=2944"},"modified":"2026-05-01T20:36:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T20:36:08","slug":"report-says-west-ham-came-closest-to-signing-manchester-city-ace-before-axel-disasi-joined","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=2944","title":{"rendered":"Report says West Ham ‘came closest’ to signing Manchester City ace before Axel Disasi joined"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Considering that it took until deadline day for Axel Disasi to finally put pen to paper with West Ham United, it should not come as a surprise that the Premier League outfit had drawn up a healthy list of alternatives.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A list which included, but was not limited to, Manchester City\u2019s Nathan Ake.<\/p>\n

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Pep Guardiola never seemed too keen on the idea of letting the Dutchman go, though. Not with so many competitions to aim for. Much to Pep\u2019s delight, Ake had serious reservations too about swapping the title challengers of the Etihad to the relegation battlers of East London.<\/p>\n

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Where does Disasi rank among West Ham\u2019s most TRANSFORMATIVE signings?<\/h3>\n

The stats make for remarkable reading\u2026<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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According to West Ham United insider\u00a0ExWHUEmployee, Nuno Espirito Santo\u2019s side submitted an offer for the experienced Dutch international. <\/p>\n

Ake, though, had little interest in moving mid-season to a club in the drop zone.<\/p>\n

Nathan Ake set to leave Manchester City as West Ham United look to keep Axel Disasi<\/h2>\n
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Four months later, while Axel Disasi looks to extend an impressive run of five clean sheets in ten Premier League appearances since joining on loan from Chelsea, Ake is hoping to sign off at Man City with what would be a fifth top-flight winners\u2019 medal.<\/p>\n

The Athletic report that the Chelsea academy graduate is expected to leave City before his contract expires in 2027. <\/p>\n

Italian publication Tuttomercatoweb add that Ake has been \u2018offered\u2019 \u2013 presumably via his representatives \u2013 to Serie A trio Juventus, Milan and an Inter side who already employ Manuel Akanji. <\/p>\n

TMW have an interesting snippet regarding West Ham, too.<\/p>\n

They claim that the Hammers actually \u2018came closest to signing him\u2019 during the January window, despite interest from both Milan and Barcelona. TMW do not say how <\/em>close though. Perhaps West Ham were the only side to make a genuine offer for a defender Man City value at around \u00a312 million. <\/p>\n

Either way, as impressive an addition as the 31-year-old Dutch international might have proved to be, you would be hard pushed finding a single West Ham supporter who would be willing to swap Axel Disasi for even a prime-time Franz Beckenbauer these days.<\/p>\n

Hammers News <\/strong>have been informed, by a source close to the club, that West Ham plan to sign Disasi permanently should Nuno keep their heads above water. <\/p>\n

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How would you explain West Ham\u2019s IMPROVED set-piece record?<\/h3>\n

Nuno was ‘really concerned’ at one point\u2026<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Nuno Espirito Santo heads to Brentford confident in his defence<\/h2>\n

Heading into Saturday\u2019s 3pm kick-off at Brentford, the Disasi\/Konstantinos Mavropanos partnership has Nuno sounding far more optimistic than when West Ham were stung by the Bees on their own soil back in October.<\/p>\n

In addition to keeping five clean sheets in ten games since Disasi made his debut at Turf Moor in February, the Hammers\u2019 record when it comes to defending set-pieces has also seen a marked improvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrentford are really good at that aspect of the game but we can see the importance of set-pieces, the amount of goals that are scored (from them),\u201d Nuno said on Thursday. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut we are positive and confident that we can handle (these) situations.\u201d<\/p>\n

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