{"id":669440,"date":"2026-07-02T08:25:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T08:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/669440\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T08:25:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T08:25:13","slug":"chelsea-get-brutally-honest-maxence-lacroix-transfer-verdict-as-xabi-alonso-plots-next-signing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/669440\/","title":{"rendered":"Chelsea get brutally honest Maxence Lacroix transfer verdict as Xabi Alonso plots next signing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maxence Lacroix could be the second Chelsea signing of a new era at Stamford Bridge after Xabi Alonso got his hands on Marco Palestra\"Maxence<\/p>\n

Chelsea want to sign Maxence Lacroix this summer(Image: Marc Atkins)<\/p>\n

Marcel Desailly has backed Chelsea<\/a> to sign Maxence Lacroix from Crystal Palace, but believes the Blues would still need to add a ‘real experienced leader’ to the backline.<\/p>\n

football.london understands that Chelsea are interested in signing the 26-year-old defender,<\/a> whose contract at Selhurst Park expires in June 2029. The Blues identified Lacroix as a priority target earlier this summer and lodged an official enquiry last week, as they prepare to bolster Xabi Alonso’s side.<\/p>\n

It’s understood that Chelsea remain in talks with the Eagles over the France international, who’s thought to be keen on moving across the capital.<\/a> As it stands, though, the Blues are yet to agree a fee with Crystal Palace and, at the time of writing, sources at Stamford Bridge insist that an official bid hasn’t been submitted.<\/p>\n

Speaking to football.london on behalf of SportsCasting, Desailly endorsed the potential signing of Lacroix despite reservations about his ‘experience’. The Blues cult hero said: “I think that Maxence Lacroix would be a decent signing for Chelsea.<\/p>\n

FOLLOW OUR CHELSEA FB PAGE! Latest Blues news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page<\/a><\/p>\n

“I don’t want to criticise the player, I would just say that yes, it’s a good move for the club. Alonso likes to play with three at the back. He wants to implement his ideas and his philosophy with a back three.<\/p>\n

“I think it\u2019s a good move for him and a good move for Chelsea. Lacroix is an international player, playing in a magnificent team that Didier Deschamps has assembled. I cannot criticise an international player who has represented France at the World Cup.”<\/p>\n

Although Desailly described Lacroix as a “decent signing”, he outlined his desire to see Chelsea sign an experienced leader from an elite-level club. The 57-year-old, who won the FA Cup with the Blues in 2000, continued: “Is he what Chelsea really needs?<\/p>\n

\"Maxence<\/p>\n

Chelsea are working to sign Maxence Lacroix(Image: Sebastian Frej)<\/p>\n

“I actually think they need a centre-back with more experience, a player that is already established and can come in and lead the defence. We need a real experienced leader at the heart of the defence.<\/p>\n

“Don’t ask me for a name; it is Alonso and the club\u2019s job to find the correct player that matches his philosophy. It’s a good move for Lacroix, but I really want to see them target a player who has played at an elite level for a similar-sized club as Chelsea, with similar pressures, not a player from a smaller club than Chelsea.”<\/p>\n

Desailly singled out Enzo Fernandez and Wesley Fofana as players whom Alonso should build around next season. The Frenchman also claimed that Chelsea need to sign a deadly number nine.<\/p>\n

\"Joao<\/p>\n

Joao Pedro scored 20 goals and provided nine assists in his debut season for Chelsea(Image: Chris Lee – Chelsea FC)<\/p>\n

“Wesley Fofana is still there,” said Desailly. “We have other good players. We need a brilliant spine, that means bringing in one experienced defender, plus Fern\u00e1ndez if he stays, plus a striker.<\/p>\n

“We really need a deadly number nine. Chelsea needs a spine that can compete with the Premier League\u2019s best clubs. So yeah, Lacroix is a good player, but he doesn\u2019t have the experience I\u2019m looking for or what I think Chelsea needs.”<\/p>\n

On Wednesday afternoon, Chelsea announced the transfer of Marco Palestra from Atalanta. football.london understands that the Blues forked out around \u00a347m for the 21-year-old right-back,<\/a> including add-ons, making him the first signing of a new era at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n

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Chelsea have launched their new home kit for the 2026\/27 season, said to be ‘a celebration of the club’s Italian Renaissance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maxence Lacroix could be the second Chelsea signing of a new era at Stamford Bridge after Xabi Alonso…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":669441,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[219,14556,218,7057,101,2297,56,54,55,40765],"class_list":["post-669440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-chelsea","tag-chelsea-transfer-news","tag-football","tag-maxence-lacroix","tag-sports","tag-summer-transfer-window","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-xabi-alonso"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=669440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669440\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/669441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=669440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=669440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=669440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}