Chelsea has reached an agreement with Crystal Palace to acquire defender Maxence Lacroix in a deal valued around £51m. The French centre-back, aged 26, has authorized the move to proceed.
As part of the transfer discussions, Chelsea offered Palace the opportunity to explore acquiring one of their available defenders. Several Chelsea players have attracted interest from other clubs, including Axel Disasi, Trevoh Chalobah, and Benoit Badiashile. The two clubs have maintained a positive relationship, having previously conducted transfers involving players such as Chalobah and Ben Chilwell.
Palace had been pursuing Augsburg’s Chrislain Matsima as a defensive reinforcement, but Sky Sports News reports the club is prepared to abandon those negotiations due to frustration with the pace of discussions. Since Marc Guehi’s departure to Manchester City in January, Palace has monitored several centre-back targets, including Toulouse’s Charlie Cresswell, Lyon’s Ruben Kluivert, and Trabzonspor’s Chibuke Nwaiwu, who also has interest from Fulham.
Lacroix arrived at Palace from Wolfsburg in 2024 and has established himself as a key defensive player. He ranks among the Premier League’s top five fastest centre-backs and excels in one-on-one defensive situations. According to performance data, he is the only Premier League player to have faced 50 or more one-on-one situations across the past two seasons while winning the ball back more frequently than not. Standing 6’4″ tall, Lacroix also ranks third for clearances and seventh for aerial duels won in the league.
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