{"id":20837,"date":"2026-07-24T08:28:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T08:28:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=20837"},"modified":"2026-07-24T08:28:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T08:28:41","slug":"chelsea-to-conduct-medical-of-defender-maxence-lacroix-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=20837","title":{"rendered":"Chelsea to conduct medical of defender Maxence Lacroix today"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Chelsea are closing in on another major summer signing, with Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix expected to complete his medical before finalising a \u00a352 million move to Stamford Bridge.
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The France international has been identified as the physically strong, Premier League-proven centre-back Xabi Alonso wants for his defensive rebuild.<\/p>\n

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At 26, Lacroix offers a useful balance between experience and long-term value, having already established himself in both England and Germany.<\/p>\n

His arrival could also trigger further movement within Chelsea\u2019s defence, with Axel Disasi, Beno\u00eet Badiashile and Trevoh Chalobah among those facing uncertain futures.<\/p>\n

The transfer is being completed rather than merely discussed, although Chelsea have yet to make an official announcement.<\/p>\n

Medical booked as six-year contract awaits<\/h2>\n

According to The Athletic, Lacroix is scheduled to undergo his Chelsea medical before signing a contract running until June 2032.<\/p>\n

The two London clubs are finalising a deal worth approximately \u00a352 million.<\/p>\n

Palace had initially wanted closer to \u00a360 million, but the final figure reportedly matches the amount Tottenham paid Brighton for Jan Paul van Hecke earlier in the window.<\/p>\n

Chelsea\u2019s decision to meet that valuation reflects how highly Alonso rates Lacroix\u2019s pace, strength and ability to defend large spaces.<\/p>\n

The Sun also reports that Premier League experience was considered an important requirement in Chelsea\u2019s search for a new defender.<\/p>\n

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Lacroix will bring defensive stability to Chelsea<\/h2>\n

Lacroix appears well suited to Chelsea\u2019s intended style. His recovery speed should allow the team to maintain a higher defensive line, while his physicality and experience could provide greater security during transitions.<\/p>\n

The \u00a352 million fee is substantial, but Chelsea are buying a defender who should be ready to compete immediately rather than requiring several seasons to adapt.<\/p>\n

Palace are also receiving a major profit on the player they signed from Wolfsburg in 2024.<\/p>\n

This is a more sensible investment than another gamble on an inexperienced prospect.<\/p>\n

Chelsea already possess young defenders with potential; what they need is someone capable of organising the back line and producing reliable performances now.<\/p>\n

The real test will be squad management. If Lacroix arrives, Chelsea must move on defenders who no longer have clear roles.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, another expensive signing could create congestion rather than stability.<\/p>\n

Chelsea and Man United are battling for a bargain \u00a317 million defensive signing <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Chelsea are closing in on another major summer signing, with Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20838,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}