- Real Madrid eye Crystal Palace defender Lacroix
- The Eagles star earned France debut last week
- Wharton also on Spanish giants’ radar
Crystal Palace look to have a fight on their hands to keep Maxence Lacroix as Real Madrid are now eyeing the French defender. His terrific spell at Selhurst Park has inevitably led to speculation over a move to one of Europe’s big guns.
A previous report claimed that Liverpool, Chelsea, Aston Villa, and Bayern Munich are all monitoring Lacroix. A first-ever call-up to the France national team put plenty of eyes on the 25-year-old, and he impressed.
Lacroix has just over three years left on his contract with the Eagles, which means they are in control of the situation. There have been claims that Steve Parish’s board are eager to get him to sign a new deal with improved terms.
Real Madrid Now In For Lacroix
Spanish outlet Defensa Central are now reporting that Real Madrid is “closely monitoring” Lacroix and considers him a potential option to strengthen their defence. David Alaba is already heading for the Santiago Bernabeu exit door and Antonio Rudiger could follow suit.
Liverpool are thought to be frontrunners to sign Lacroix but Chelsea and Villa are also keeping tabs. This isn’t the first time Madrid have been linked with a Palace player.
Los Blancos were eyeing Marc Guehi until he moved to Manchester City in January for £20m (€23m) . The Spaniards were reluctant to pay a fee and preferred to wait until the summer when he’d have become a free agent.
Apparently, the South Londoners are only willing to consider offers of above €40m, and a deal could reach €50-60 million. Parish and the higher-ups will be eager to keep the French centre-back, given they are set to kickstart a new era with a new manager in charge this summer.
Madrid Scouting Mission
Talk of Madrid’s interest in Lacroix comes amid their admiration of Adam Wharton. It’s long been reported that the La Liga giants are on the lookout for a new midfielder.
A report from MailSport claims that Los Blancos have “set their sights” on Wharton, and their chief scout, Juni Calafat, is a fan of the 21-year-old. They also have Manchester City’s Rodri on their radar, but could prioritise a younger option, which has been the club’s strategy in recent years.
This suggests that Lacroix might have caught the eye of their scouting team while they assessed Wharton. Losing not one, but two key men would be a disaster for Glasner’s successor.
Wharton has been seen as likely to leave this summer due to growing interest in him. Manchester United and Liverpool have been linked for around a year and could make huge offers to try and sign the former Blackburn Rovers youngster.
