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Axel Disasi's hopes of a Chelsea revival appear short-lived. The former bomb-squad member has been reintegrated into the senior set-up by the Blues' boss but the redemption arc may stop short.

Disasi came out of the wilderness to captain Chelsea's Under-21s in a match against Reading in the autumn. His attitude has been praised, but he was left out of the Blues' Premier League squad so is ineligible to feature in the competition until the new year.

Now, according to L'Equipe, Chelsea and Lyon are in talks over a January move for the defender. Disasi, who joined Chelsea for £38m from Monaco in 2023, was out of favour last season and spent the second half of the campaign on loan at Aston Villa.

Lyon's hierarchy are said to be open to the move, and so is Disasi. However, the biggest question surrounds whether they instead opt for a player with more match sharpness.

• Arsenal and Chelsea suffer January blow as £39m target snubs transfer for rival club

• Enzo Maresca calls out one Chelsea star with unprovoked dig in press conference

Lyon six sixth in Ligue 1 as we near the January transfer window. They are five points outside the Champions League qualification spots, though a win at Lorient on Sunday would allow them to close the gap to fourth-place Lille.

Moussa Niakhate and Clinton Mata are both on their way to the Africa Cup of Nations later this month, leaving manager Paulo Fonseca light at the back. Mata has been named in Angola's squad for the competition, while Niakhate has been a regualr in the Senegal squad.

Chelsea have been left a little lighter at the back by injuries to Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill, while Moises Caicedo's suspension leaves less protection in front of the back four. "Wes is doing well with one game a week,'" Maresca said after giving Fofana a rest for the midweek trip to Leeds.

"Hopefully, in the future, he can do two games a week but I think it’s too early [for that now]. What we don’t want with Wes is [to push him and he then be] four, five, six months out. We want to avoid that."

On Colwill, who suffered a serious knee injury before the start of the season, the manager said: "I didn’t see the players [that travelled to Leeds] on Thursday, but I saw Levi and had a chat with him. Unfortunately, because [Colwill and midfielder Romeo Lavia] are injured, they are always in the building, so for me, there is always a greater chance to see them."

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