Chelsea are continuing their pursuit of Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix with the Blues identifying the Frenchman as their top defensive target in the summer transfer window
07:00, 28 Jun 2026
Maxence Lacroix celebrates
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Chelsea have made Maxence Lacroix their No.1 defensive target(Image: Sebastian Frej)
Chelsea have a long list of central defenders they admire but none more so than Maxence Lacroix - with the Blues working on a deal to sign the Frenchman from Crystal Palace.
football.london first reported the west Londoners' interest in the 26-year-old defender towards the start of this month. At the time, he was nobody more than someone the Chelsea higher-ups had discussed but almost a month on, the Blues will be hoping to wrap a deal to sign Lacroix up as swiftly - and smoothly - as possible.
Palace, though, are in a strong position when it comes to possibly selling Lacroix. The France international, currently at the World Cup with Les Bleus, has three years remaining on his Selhurst Park contract - meaning the Eagles are in no rush to lose the defender this summer.
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Chelsea will be hoping to strike a deal with their London rivals sooner rather than later but negotiations are very rarely straightforward. If this does get done eventually, there is another deal that seems rather obvious waiting to happen.
Talks are underway between Como and Chelsea over a deal to sign Trevoh Chalobah. Cesc Fabregas, who led the Italian club to their first-ever Champions League qualification in the recently-concluded 2025/26 campaign, is understood to be a big admirer of the Cobham graduate and is looking to take advantage of the uncertainty over the defender's future.
When a question over Chalobah's future was put to club sources a few days ago, they were insistent that the defender remains highly valued at Stamford Bridge. However, they said he was not untouchable - like some of Chalobah's teammates, including Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro and Josh Acheampong - in the summer transfer window.
If the price is right, he is yours, Como. Or Inter Milan, because football.london understands the Italian champions also have a keen interest in Chalobah, who they have had on their radar for quite some time now.
With Lacroix potentially coming in, Chalobah will fall down the pecking order in west London. Chelsea are looking for a long-term partner for Levi Colwill and they believe Lacroix could be that man - which is, undoubtedly, bad news for Chalobah.
That is why it looks as if one move could facilitate the other in many ways. Elsewhere, there are no guarantees over the futures of Benoit Badiashile, Wesley Fofana and Tosin Adarabioyo this summer.
All three Chelsea centre backs failed to impress last season and that has inevitably led to question marks over where they will be playing their football next term. Mamadou Sarr could be loaned out again after his spell with Strasbourg was cut short in January with Chelsea failing in their pursuit to sign Jeremy Jacquet, who instead chose Liverpool.
Either way, the arrival of Lacroix - which is still a possibility at this stage, rather than an unenviability - should start a snowball effect with some Chelsea defenders this summer.
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