Chelsea transfer news: Maxence Lacroix close to move after New York hotel meeting
21 Jul 2026 10:04 BST |
4 min read
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Chelsea are pushing to finalise a summer deal for France defender Maxence Lacroix, who is valued at €70 million (£60m) by Crystal Palace.
The 26-year-old has been earmarked as Chelsea’s priority centre-back target ahead of the new campaign and they are eager to bring him to Stamford Bridge this summer as they prepare for Xabi Alonso’s debut season in charge.
Lacroix has enjoyed an excellent two-year stint at Crystal Palace, but he is open to leaving Selhurst Park following the departure of Oliver Glasner, and Chelsea have emerged as the frontrunners to sign him, despite reported competition from fellow Premier League giants Arsenal.
The Blues are expected to sanction the permanent sales of Trevoh Chalobah, Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile and potentially Wesley Fofana before the end of the summer window, and Lacroix is their preferred centre-back signing, ahead of fellow targets Jacobo Ramon and John Stones.
Chelsea have been in discussions over a move for the 26-year-old for several weeks and a formal meeting between co-owner Behdad Eghbali and Palace chairman Steve Parish took place at a hotel in New York following the World Cup final on Sunday, as per a report from The Daily Mail.
It’s claimed that Chelsea offered a fee of roughly €65m during the meeting, but Palace are holding out for €70m and the early indications suggest that an agreement is likely to be reached before the start of the 2026-27 campaign.
Chelsea are reportedly “determined” to sign Lacroix this summer, while the France star, who made three appearances at the World Cup, is understood to be open to a Stamford Bridge switch.
Who else do Chelsea want to sign this summer?
In addition to Lacroix, Chelsea are also in advanced talks to sign Rayo Vallecano left-back Pep Chavarria, although a deal is at risk of collapsing due to a gap in valuation.
The Spaniard has been identified as a top target by Alonso, who is driving Chelsea’s pursuit of his compatriot, and it was originally believed that a fee worth less than €30m would be enough to finalise a transfer.
However, Rayo Vallecano insist that a sale won’t be accepted unless Chavarria’s €50m release clause is triggered and Chelsea are currently unwilling to match that figure. If a deal for Chavarria falls through, Chelsea have been tipped to pursue a deal to bring Lewis Hall back to the club.
Meanwhile, the Blues have finalised a deal with Aston Villa for Morgan Rogers, with the England attacker set to be formally unveiled as the club’s most expensive signing in history shortly.
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