Chelsea have intensified their pursuit of Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix after opening formal talks with the South London club over a potential summer transfer. Palace have placed a minimum valuation of £55 million on the 26-year-old French centre-back, using Tottenham’s recent signing of Jan Paul van Hecke as the benchmark for their asking price.
The development comes less than 48 hours after Softfootball reported that Arsenal had entered the race for Lacroix, with the Gunners exploring the possibility of hijacking Chelsea’s long-standing interest in the defender. However, Chelsea remain at the front of the queue and have now taken the first formal steps toward securing his signature.
Chelsea view Lacroix as a key target as Xabi Alonso looks to strengthen his defensive options ahead of the new season. The club believes the Frenchman possesses the qualities needed to thrive in Alonso’s tactical system and add greater stability to the back line.
With Arsenal still monitoring the situation, the race for the highly rated defender is set to intensify as Chelsea push to complete another major addition during the summer transfer window.
