Chelsea have held formal talks with Crystal Palace regarding a move for defender Maxence Lacroix, talkSPORT understands.
Palace value the French centre-back at at least £55million, and owner Steve Parish is determined to drive a hard bargain over the fee.
Jan Paul van Hecke’s recent £52m move from Brighton to Tottenham Hotspur is being used as a yardstick.
As reported earlier in July, Chelsea have shown willingness to offer fringe players to help sign Lacroix.
The 26-year-old is also expected to push for a move to west London, even though his current club would ideally prefer to keep him.
Lacroix has spent the summer at the World Cup with France and first played in their 4-1 win over Norway.
He came off the bench in the 2-0 semi-final defeat against Spain and then started as England beat them 6-4 in a wild bronze medal match.
Lacroix has made 98 appearances across two seasons for Palace since his 2024 move from VfL Wolfsburg.
The defender has also won the FA Cup, Conference League and Community Shield throughout his spell at Selhurst Park.
Another busy Chelsea transfer window
Chelsea had the signings of Geovany Quenda and Emmanuel Emegha lined up before the transfer window opened this summer.
Marco Palestra has also moved to Stamford Bridge from Atalanta in a £47m switch.
The Blues are now set to sign Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa for a British record fee of £117m.
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Rogers was the leading target for Arsenal but it’s Chelsea who will welcome the England star, whose medical is scheduled for Monday.
His former club Middlesbrough are also in line for a large sum as part of the deal.
Middlesbrough bought Rogers from Manchester City in July 2023 for £1.1m and sold him to Villa seven months later for an initial £15.5m.
The Championship outfit will bank 20 per cent of the profit from Villa’s sale, which looks set to be £20.3m.
Regarding outgoings, Marc Cucurella has been sold to Real Madrid for around £52m.
Andrey Santos has joined Manchester United in a £50m move, whilst Tyrique George has permanently joined Everton for a reported £24m.
