Crystal Palace supporters have had plenty to feel good about this week. The club have moved to tie down Jean-Philippe Mateta with a new long-term contract, and the recruitment team have been busy shaping the squad for another European campaign.
The mood around Selhurst Park this summer has been one of quiet confidence. Palace have acted early in the window, adding Bethany England to the women’s side and pressing ahead with talks over several targets for Oliver Glasner’s first team.
Defensive planning has been a particular theme. On Wednesday it emerged that Palace have enquired about a £35m deal for Chelsea centre-back Trevoh Chalobah, a move that hinted the club may be preparing for changes at the heart of their back line.
Now Fabrizio Romano has explained exactly why that preparation might be needed and it concerns one of the first names on Glasner’s team sheet.
The defender at the centre of it all
The player in question is Maxence Lacroix, and the club circling is Chelsea. According to Fabrizio Romano, speaking on his YouTube channel on Wednesday, “Chelsea are still working behind the scenes on the deal for Maxence Lacroix.”
Romano added that the France defender is “one of the most appreciated centre-backs at Chelsea” and that “Chelsea contacts already took place on club side and on agent side.” He went on: “Chelsea want to add one centre-back, could be two, based on exits, and Maxence Lacroix is one of the players, who remains on the very top of their list.”
This is not a new flirtation. Romano first reported on X back on 24 June that Chelsea had “started talks” for the 26-year-old, and he has since said Lacroix would be “keen on a move” to Stamford Bridge words that will sit uneasily with the Palace faithful.
Should Crystal Palace fans be worried?
Concerned, yes. Panicked, no. Nothing in Romano’s reporting suggests a bid has been made, and Palace hold a strong hand: Lacroix is under contract, his stock has risen with France at the World Cup, and the club have shown with Marc Guéhi and Adam Wharton that they do not sell cheaply or at all unless the price is exceptional.
The Chalobah enquiry, though, looks telling. If Palace are scouting Chelsea’s centre-backs while Chelsea scout theirs, the two clubs’ summers may yet become entangled. Chelsea’s own need for exits before further additions also buys Palace time.
The verdict: this one is live, and Romano’s persistence on it suggests Chelsea are serious. But until an offer lands at Selhurst Park, Lacroix remains a Palace player and the club’s recent history says any deal will be done on their terms, not Chelsea’s.
