{"id":21797,"date":"2026-07-27T07:41:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T07:41:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=21797"},"modified":"2026-07-27T07:41:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T07:41:16","slug":"five-players-chelsea-could-sign-this-week-as-maxence-lacroix-deal-triggers-new-transfer-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=21797","title":{"rendered":"Five players Chelsea could sign this week as Maxence Lacroix deal triggers new transfer plan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<h2 class=\"LeadText_lead-text__wd_PA __className_9f853e\" data-testid=\"leadtext\">Chelsea are expected to continue strengthening Xabi Alonso&#8217;s squad following the arrival of Maxence Lacroix<\/h2>\n<p><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX ImageEmbed_image-lead__Ti3qQ\" data-testid=\"leadimage\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"34239274\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Maxence Lacroix \" loading=\"eager\" sizes=\"(max-width: 508px) 508px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.football.london\/article34239274.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/1_GettyImages-2284659355.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.football.london\/article34239274.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s508\/1_GettyImages-2284659355.jpg 508w, https:\/\/i2-prod.football.london\/article34239274.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615\/1_GettyImages-2284659355.jpg 615w, https:\/\/i2-prod.football.london\/article34239274.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/1_GettyImages-2284659355.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"Maxence Lacroix looks set to join Chelsea\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Maxence Lacroix looks set to join Chelsea<cite aria-label=\"Image: Dan Mullan\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-credit__wlx1W\" data-testid=\"caption-credit\">(Image: Dan Mullan)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Maxence Lacroix looks set to become the third signing of the Xabi Alonso era at Stamford Bridge, taking the total spend for the summer to just over \u00a3200m, but Chelsea have shown no sign of slowing down.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The Blues began the transfer window by signing Marco Palestra from Atalanta for about \u00a347m. Chelsea then forked out \u00a3117m to prise Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa, making him the most expensive British player of all time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The Blues quickly turned their attention to Maxence Lacroix, wrapping up a deal with Crystal Palace worth \u00a352m. The 26-year-old&#8217;s arrival follows a conscious effort by higher-ups at Stamford Bridge to balance the recruitment model, combining the signing of prospects with the acquisition of ready-made talent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Although the Chelsea sporting leadership have added three key players to the squad this summer, there&#8217;s still plenty of work to be done before Alonso can compete on all fronts. The transfer window doesn&#8217;t slam shut until September, but the new Premier League season is just a few weeks away.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">FOLLOW OUR CHELSEA FB PAGE! <\/strong><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Latest Blues news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">So, with that being said, <strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">football.london<\/strong> has looked at five players who the Blues could sign this week.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"HeadingThree_heading-three__PBHLs  __className_66a192\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Pep Chavarria<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">football.london<\/strong> understands that, at the end of last month, Chelsea opened club-to-club negotiations with Rayo Vallecano in an attempt to sign Pep Chavarria. The Blues are interested in signing the 28-year-old defender, who has four years remaining on his contract at Vallecas Stadium in Madrid.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"HeadingThree_heading-three__PBHLs  __className_66a192\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">John Stones<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">football.london<\/strong> understands that Chelsea are interested in signing John Stones, who left Manchester City following the expiry of his contract at the Etihad Stadium last month. The 32-year-old defender was recently offered to the Blues after becoming a free agent.<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"image-group\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX false\" data-testid=\"imageembed-34324962\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"34324962\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"image\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5215199689802248\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"John Stones \" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 458px) 458px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.football.london\/article34324962.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200e\/0_GettyImages-2286531033.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.football.london\/article34324962.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s458b\/0_GettyImages-2286531033.jpg 458w, https:\/\/i2-prod.football.london\/article34324962.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615b\/0_GettyImages-2286531033.jpg 615w, https:\/\/i2-prod.football.london\/article34324962.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200e\/0_GettyImages-2286531033.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"John Stones is on Chelsea's summer radar\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">John Stones is on Chelsea&#8217;s summer radar<cite aria-label=\"Image: Eddie Keogh - The FA\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-credit__wlx1W\" data-testid=\"caption-credit\">(Image: Eddie Keogh &#8211; The FA)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"HeadingThree_heading-three__PBHLs  __className_66a192\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Jacobo Ramon<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">football.london<\/strong> understands that Chelsea retain an interest in Jacobo Ramon. The Blues considered signing the 21-year-old defender from Como in the January transfer window, but they prioritised a move for Jeremy Jacquet, who favoured a switch to Liverpool.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Interestingly, Trevoh Chalobah remains the subject of negotiations between Chelsea and the Italian outfit. It&#8217;s understood that the Blues could follow the signing of Maxence Lacroix from Crystal Palace with a second centre-half if there&#8217;s movement in that department.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"HeadingThree_heading-three__PBHLs  __className_66a192\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Alex Scott<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">football.london<\/strong> understands that Chelsea are interested in signing Alex Scott from Bournemouth. The Cherries are insistent that they will not sell the 22-year-old midfielder this summer as they look to climb the Premier League and win the Europa League.<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"image-group\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX false\" data-testid=\"imageembed-34326253\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"34326253\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"image\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.6110856619331195\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"(max-width: 458px) 458px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.football.london\/article34326253.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200e\/0_GettyImages-2275178017.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.football.london\/article34326253.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s458b\/0_GettyImages-2275178017.jpg 458w, https:\/\/i2-prod.football.london\/article34326253.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615b\/0_GettyImages-2275178017.jpg 615w, https:\/\/i2-prod.football.london\/article34326253.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200e\/0_GettyImages-2275178017.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"Chelsea are one of several Premier League clubs with a keen interest in Alex Scott\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Chelsea are one of several Premier League clubs with a keen interest in Alex Scott<cite aria-label=\"Image: Rob Newell - CameraSport\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-credit__wlx1W\" data-testid=\"caption-credit\">(Image: Rob Newell &#8211; CameraSport)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"HeadingThree_heading-three__PBHLs  __className_66a192\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Kerim Alajbegovic<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">According to The Telegraph, Chelsea are the favourites to sign Kerim Alajbegovic from Bayer Leverkusen. The report claims the Blues face strong competition from other top clubs, such as Juventus, in the race for the 18-year-old winger&#8217;s signature.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Alonso was in the dugout at the BayArena when Alajbegovic came through the Bundesliga outfit&#8217;s development system a few years ago. The Bosnia and Herzegovina international made a great impression at the World Cup after an excellent season with RB Salzburg.<\/p>\n<div class=\"AffiliateContentsEmbed_affiliate-contents-container__oTiet\" data-testid=\"affiliate-contents-embed\">\n<div data-testid=\"affiliate-content\" class=\"AffiliateContent_affiliate-content-container__10EX_ affiliate-content\">\n<p>Get Chelsea&#8217;s new 2026\/27 away kit<\/p>\n<div class=\"AffiliateDisclaimer_affiliate-disclaimer__dG5ST\">\n<div class=\"AffiliateDisclaimer_affiliate-text__8nmDa\">This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"AffiliateContent_section-container__JMDzM AffiliateContent_content-details__U6C2M AffiliateContent_has-content-img___LY95\">\n<div class=\"AffiliateContent_section-content__QCkL9\">\n<div class=\"AffiliateContent_content-image__FxPNL\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Content Image\" fetchpriority=\"auto\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.football.london\/article34324740.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s510b\/0_Untitled-July-17-2026-at-093233jpeg.jpg\"\/><\/div>\n<div class=\"AffiliateContent_content-price-details__OpMC_\">\n<p>from \u00a354.99<\/p>\n<p>Chelsea FC<\/p>\n<p>Buy Now on Chelsea FC<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"AffiliateContent_section-container__JMDzM\">\n<div id=\"product-description\" class=\"AffiliateContent_section-content__QCkL9\">\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Chelsea have launched their new away kit for the 2026\/27 season, said to be a<!-- --> celebration of the club&#8217;s &#8216;Italian Renaissance&#8217;. It&#8217;s designed with a <!-- -->black base and gold trim in tribute to their transformative 1990s era.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chelsea are expected to continue strengthening Xabi Alonso&#8217;s squad following the arrival of Maxence Lacroix&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21798,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21797","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\/21797","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=21797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/21798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}