Chelsea defender Axel Disasi has lifted the lid on life inside the club’s infamous ‘bomb squad’.
The Frenchman spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa and is not part of Enzo Maresca’s plans at Stamford Bridge.
He is one of several senior players banished from first-team training while their futures are resolved.
On Friday night, Disasi took to Instagram and posted a string of pre-season snaps, captioning the upload simply: ‘Life.’
One photo offered a rare glimpse inside the so-called ‘bomb squad’ quarters – a small, bare room with wooden benches, two windows and an air-con unit bolted to the wall.
Stripped of any luxury, the space looked more non-league than Premier League, a far cry from the plush surroundings Chelsea’s stars are used to.
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Chelsea defender Axel Disasi has lifted the lid on life inside the club’s infamous ‘bomb squad’.
The Frenchman spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa from the Blues
Disasi is not part of Enzo Maresca’s plans alongside several other players training away from the first team
Plaques carrying the names of Ben Chilwell, Carney Chukwuemeka, Lesley Ugochukwu – since moved on to Burnley – and Disasi were fixed above the benches, confirming who the space belonged to.
More noticeable is Alfie Gilchrist, who is pictured looking dejected with his hands in this head in one corner.
The 21-year-old came through the Chelsea ranks before making his debut under Mauricio Pochettino in 2023.
He spent last season on loan at Sheffield United – but they did not make the deal permanent.
Chelsea had 43 players report for pre-season – and some have already departed.
Raheem Sterling is one of nine players that the west London club are looking to move on before the summer transfer window closes.
Sterling is coming off the back of a disappointing season on loan at Arsenal last season and still has two years remaining on his £325,000-a-week contract.
The Telegraph claim the player and the Blues would both prefer finding a ‘permanent solution to his future’ but another loan move is also a possibility.
Alfie Gilchrist is also part of the Chelsea ‘bomb squad’ after his loan spell at Sheffield United
Chelsea are working on arranging sales or loans for Christopher Nkunku, Nicolas Jackson, Renato Veiga, Axel Disasi,, Carney Chukwuemeka, Ben Chilwell and potentially Tyrique George over the next two weeks.
There is also interest in Argentine defender Aaron Anselmino from clubs in Europe.
Chelsea believe they will have raised somewhere in the region of £300m in player sales once the window shuts, leaving their net spend close to zero.
