Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea for £52m makes sense. His experience and physicality are exactly what they need

Maxence Lacroix’s likely move to Stamford Bridge might not be Chelsea’s most glamorous or expensive summer signing, but it is one of the most noteworthy of the BlueCo era.

This will be the first time since the summer of 2022 that Chelsea have paid a transfer fee for a player aged 26 or over, and £52million ($69.2m) is a significant outlay. A newfound willingness to invest in maturity and experience to balance out youth is coming into action.

But why the 26-year-old Lacroix?

The Athletic reported on June 23 that he was one of Chelsea’s top targets. In the first summer 2026 edition of the Transfer DealSheet on June 2, it was reported they were looking to add a centre-back. That is despite the fact Chelsea already have eight to 10 senior centre-backs on their books, depending on how you classify Jorrel Hato and Josh Acheampong. Last summer, Enzo Maresca was told after Levi Colwill suffered an ACL injury in pre-season that a new centre-back would not be purchased and he needed to find internal solutions.

After last season, that tune has changed. Too often, Chelsea appeared vulnerable, ill-disciplined and unstable at the back, lacking composure and physicality. A fully fit and available Colwill will help enormously, but Lacroix’s aptitude to solve some of those problems demonstrates why Chelsea have invested in him.

First, Lacroix has emerged as a leadership figure at Palace, a quality Chelsea lacked at times last season. As The Athletic’s Matt Woosnam has written, Lacroix’s commitment is part of what has made him popular among team-mates, fans and coaching staff at Palace. He was also vice-captain at former side Wolfsburg. His experience of taking on responsibility week-in, week-out — having made 55 appearances for Palace last season, all starts — is valuable.

But his more tangible attributes as a player also line up with what Chelsea have been missing. At 6ft 2in (190cm), Lacroix’s stature is a major positive. Chelsea have struggled defending set pieces and have been outmuscled in one-v-one duels too much. The France international’s physicality helps him hold his own when battling against strikers for long balls into his territory.

According to Squawka, only six players won more aerial duels than him in the Premier League last season. This piece from April set out that Lacroix was one of the best players in the league at making the first contact on long throws, with most of those actually coming in the opposition box.

If new manager Xabi Alonso does use the 3-4-2-1 formation that brought him such success at Bayer Leverkusen, Lacroix is an immediate fit for the middle of the back three. That is where he has played almost all of his matches for Palace in the past two seasons, and it positions him well to act as an anchor and sweeper.

We can see from his playstyle chart that he is not the most comfortable ball-playing centre-back. His pass completion under pressure is 81 per cent, which is about average for a Premier League centre-back; among all those with 900+ mins played last season, he ranked 30th out of 65. His best use might not be in build-up but more as a last line of defence.

Fixing Lacroix as the furthest-back defender would allow Colwill, on his left, and possibly Trevoh Chalobah, who is of interest to Como, or Wesley Fofana on his right, to be more adventurous in joining the build-up. Lacroix can look to be the spare man, cutting out danger with tackles and interceptions (front-foot defending). He can also retreat well to defend the box (back-foot defending) with clearances and blocks. His impressive recovery pace and tackling make him well-equipped to help mop up errors by team-mates — or himself.

That is an important point: while an accomplished defender, Lacroix is not error-free. He does suffer lapses in concentration or judgement; take France’s chaotic 6-4 defeat in the World Cup third-place playoff against England. Here, he uses his pace to keep up with Bukayo Saka on a long recovery sprint, and positions himself well to make a block — but then ends up allowing Saka an unobstructed shot.

The defender will require some adaptation at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea’s more front-footed, possession-based style of play will create more space behind Lacroix than he has been used to at Palace. That means his desire to step up into duels and defend on the front foot will need to be executed carefully, to avoid exposing the space behind a high line that was breached too often on the counter-attack last season.

He will need to grow accustomed to being in a possession-based system, too. His high volume of clearances, as well as underlining his defensive work rate, and low ball retention percentile above, speak to a player who can improve at helping to build attacks patiently.

The exact way that Chelsea’s defence shapes up around Lacroix will be intriguing. Before a deal was agreed for Lacroix, Colwill, as one of the team’s leaders and often the player who would take on responsibility from the centre of the back line in build-up, was surely expected to sit in the middle of a potential back three. But with Lacroix already well accustomed to that role from his time at Palace, Colwill seems more likely to line up on the left-hand side, which could allow him more freedom to advance into the midfield and for Chelsea to make the most of his line-breaking passing.

That could push Hato into a potential wing-back role, following Marc Cucurella’s exit. This addition at centre-back also calls into question the futures of Benoit Badiashile, Tosin Adarabioyo, Fofana, Chalobah and Mamadou Sarr.

Lacroix is not a silver bullet for Chelsea’s defensive issues. But they will hope that experience, physicality and pace can go a long way towards setting more stable foundations.