His prospects will have been further bolstered by his impressive form in front of goal this season; the centre-back has struck three times so far this campaign, including important goals in the UEFA Conference League against AZ Alkmaar and Zrinjski Mostar at Selhurst Park.
“I was happy to score and I think I can definitely score more,“ Lacroix said, after the former strike.
"That one I was really happy about, because my family were there. I’m glad people could see I can still score!
“When you’re playing as a youngster, all you want to do is score goals. I remember the first coach who said to me ‘you have to be centre-back’, and I was like ‘how will I score goals?’
“I was actually a goalkeeper when I was really young, because my father was a goalkeeper, so he told me to go in goal. But I wanted to score goals and that’s quite difficult when you’re stuck as a goalkeeper.”
That’s not to say Lacroix didn’t hone his finishing as a junior.
“Thankfully I was really tall and quick so I was then used as a striker. I was actually quite good for a few years. “Then when I was 15, I moved slowly moved back through the positions. I didn’t have the flair; I wasn’t able to score every time.
“I played as a ‘10’, then a ‘No. 6’. Eventually I moved back to centre-back. I guess I should be glad I didn’t end up as a goalkeeper!”