Chelsea have had their fair share of transfer flops and mishaps since BlueCo took the reins and started making decisions in the transfer market in recent years.
Mykhailo Mudryk for £62m, Jamie Gittens for £48.5m, and Joao Felix for £46.3m are just three of many examples that can be used to criticise the recruitment work done by the club of late.
However, they have also made some terrific signings. The £115m club-record deal to bring Moises Caicedo was a risky one, given the finances involved, but he has been a superb player for the Blues.
Chelsea's Marc Cucurella and Moises Caicedo react
The combative midfielder has played 43 or more matches in all competitions in all three of his seasons with the club to date since signing from Brighton & Hove Albion, which shows how important he has been to every manager.
In the 2025/26 campaign, the Ecuador international racked up 50 appearances in all competitions for the Blues, the most he has played in any season in his career.
Chelsea's number one target is open to a move to the club
Caicedo, who scored from the halfway line in the 2023/24 campaign, has proven his worth to the club after joining from, with all due respect, a midtable team in the Premier League.
Now, the London giants are looking at a player who could follow in the 24-year-old midfielder's footsteps by making a similar switch to Stamford Bridge ahead of next season.
According to the Express, Chelsea are pursuing a deal to sign Crystal Palace central defender Maxence Lacroix in the summer transfer window.
The report claims that the club have identified the France international, who started against Norway at the World Cup last week, as their number one defensive target for Xabi Alonso.
maxence-lacroix-crystal-palace
It adds that they have already made contact to lodge an enquiry and are in talks about a possible deal for the centre-back, but they are yet to make an offer for his services.
The Express also reveals that Lacroix is open to making the switch across London, which suggests that personal terms would not be an issue with the French star.
It's thought a fee of £47m could be enough to secure the defender's signature.
How Maxence Lacroix could emulate Moises Caicedo at Chelsea
Caicedo was able to carry his performances for Brighton over to Chelsea to establish himself as a consistent and important player for the club in recent seasons, despite arriving as a player who had only played further down in the Premier League previously.
moises-caicedo-chelsea
Lacroix, despite playing in European competitions with Palace, has not played for a team that expects to compete towards the top end of the Premier League since his move to England in the summer of 2024.
His performances for the Eagles in both the Premier League and the Conference League this season, though, show that he has the potential to be an excellent signing for Chelsea.
Lacroix (25/26) Premier League Conference League
Appearances 35 14
Goals 1 2
Clean sheets 11 6
Tackles + interceptions per game 3.0 2.4
Duels won per game 5.8 4.6
Error led to goal 1 0
Duel success rate 61% 56%
Aerial duel success rate 61% 63%
He only made one error that directly led to a goal in 49 appearances in the two competitions combined, and played 53 times in all competitions in total for Palace.
The France international has racked up 96 appearances in two seasons with the Eagles, which shows that he is incredibly durable and reliable, like Caicedo, which is exactly what Chelsea need in a position where they have had too many injury problems.
On top of being reliable from an availability perspective, his defensive numbers also show that he is a reliable and dominant defender who does not allow opposition attackers to get the better of him in physical battles very often.
Like Caicedo, who won 56% of his duels in the Premier League last term, Lacroix wins the majority of his duels in the English top-flight and would be a physical force to be reckoned with at Stamford Bridge.
Maxence-Lacroix-Crystal-Palace
Having just turned 26, the World Cup ace would also arrive at Stamford Bridge in the prime years of his career and have plenty of time left ahead of him to be a star for the club for several years.
Therefore, Lacroix could be a fantastic signing for Chelsea in the same way that Caicedo was, as another physically dominant star making the step up from a club further down the table in the Premier League.
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