The £47m Premier League star wants to join Chelsea

Chelsea have had their fair share of transfers and mishaps since BlueCo took over and started making decisions in the transfer market in recent years.

Mykhailo Mudryk at £62m, Jamie Gittens at £48.5m, and Joao Felix at £46.3m are just three of the many examples that can be used to criticize the club’s recent recruitment activity.

However, they also signed some very good players. The club record £115m deal to bring in Moises Caicedo was a risk, given the financials involved, but he has been a top player for the Blues.

The midfielder has made 43 or more appearances in all competitions in all three of his seasons with the club so far since signing for Brighton & Hove Albion, showing just how important he has been to all managers.

In the 2025/26 campaign, the Ecuadorian reached 50 appearances in all competitions for the Blues, the most in any season of his career.

Chelsea’s first goal is open to a move to the club

Caicedo, who scored a central goal in the 2023/24 campaign, has shown his worth to the club after joining, with all due respect, the best team in the Premier League.

Now, the London giants are eyeing a player who could follow in the 24-year-old’s footsteps with a similar switch to Stamford Bridge ahead of next season.

According to the Express, Chelsea are pursuing a deal to sign Crystal Palace defender Maxence Lacroix in the summer transfer window.

The report says that the team has identified the French international player, who started playing against Norway in the World Cup last week, as their first player to defend Xabi Alonso.

It also added that they have already contacted them to make an inquiry and are in talks about the centre-back’s contract, but are yet to bid for his job.

The Express also revealed that Lacroix is ​​open to a move to London, suggesting personal terms may not be an issue for the French star.

It is thought that £47m would not be enough to secure the defender’s signature.

How Maxence Lacroix can imitate Moises Caicedo at Chelsea

Caicedo has been able to carry his performances for Brighton to Chelsea to prove himself as a consistent and important player for the club in recent seasons, despite arriving as an underdog in the Premier League previously.

Lacroix, despite playing in European competitions with Palace, has not played for a side expected to challenge for the top flight of the Premier League since his move to England in the summer of 2024.

His performance for the Eagles in the Premier League and Conference League this season, however, shows that he has the potential to be a good signing for Chelsea.

He made just one mistake which saw him score in 49 games across the two competitions, and played 53 times in all competitions for Palace.

The Frenchman has played 96 games in two seasons with the Eagles, proving that he is solid and reliable, like Caicedo, which is exactly what Chelsea need in a position where they have had many injury problems.

In addition to being reliable from a possession standpoint, his defensive numbers also show that he is a reliable and strong defender who doesn’t allow opposing attackers to get the better of him in physical battles too often.

Like Caicedo, who won 56% of his goals in the Premier League last season, Lacroix wins most of his duels in the English top flight and could be a physical force to be reckoned with at Stamford Bridge.

Having just turned 26 years old, the World Cup ace will once again be arriving at Stamford Bridge in the prime of his career and has plenty of time ahead of him to become a club star for several years.

Therefore, Lacroix could be a good sign for Chelsea in the same way as Caicedo, as another physically outstanding star who made the step from the club to the table in the Premier League.