Crystal Palace’s Maxence Lacroix appears to be Chelsea’s No.1 centre-back target, but there could be an opportunity to sign Tottenham Hotspur’s Cristian Romero instead.
Enzo Fernandez would welcome the signing of Romero, and that could help convince the wantaway Chelsea star to remain at Stamford Bridge.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Romero will leave Tottenham this summer, though it remains to be seen whether Spurs would be willing to sell to their London rivals.
Chelsea would also have to convince one of the Premier League’s best centre-halves to join them without Champions League football.
However, if a transfer is possible, the Blues should be all over it as well as a deal for Lacroix.
What do you make of Chelsea’s interest in Maxence Lacroix?
Signing one new centre-half may not be enough for Chelsea, especially if Xabi Alonso plans to use a back five next season.
In terms of numbers, it is not an area of the pitch where Chelsea are short of options. But the reality is the likes of Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile and Tosin Adarabioyo do not look capable of putting in solid performances every week. That was at least the case last term.
Ultimately, Romero and Lacroix would be upgrades on most of Chelsea’s current centre-back options, and if Alonso wants to use a three-man central defence, he may need two new names to play alongside Levi Colwill.
What would Romero and Lacroix bring to the side? Well, Chelsea fans would have seen from London derbies against Tottenham how aggressive and strong a tackler Romero is. He is also a leader, becoming Spurs captain last year. Chelsea’s young dressing room does not have enough of those.
As for Lacroix, he is fantastic in the air and knows how to deal with danger. According to WhoScored, the France international won 3.4 aerial duels and made 7.2 clearances per game in the Premier League last season, which were the highest averages in Palace’s squad.
Chelsea supporters would be happy with either, but if the Club World Cup winners somehow managed to sign both, that would be incredible.
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