Baku, July 30, AZERTAC
Chelsea have completed the signing of Maxence Lacroix from Crystal Palace in a deal worth £51m, Sky Sports reported.
The 26-year-old central defender has signed a six-year contract at Stamford Bridge. Lacroix's arrival takes the club's spending to beyond £250m this summer.
Lacroix becomes the first player Chelsea have signed for a fee aged 26 or over since the summer of 2022, with the club also set to complete deals for 35-year-old Danny Welbeck and 36-year-old Jordan Henderson.
This is a deliberate change in transfer policy from Chelsea to target more experienced palyers that has been embraced by new manager Xabi Alonso.
Palace were seeking around £55m in negotiations, given the fee Tottenham paid for Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton.
Chelsea are expected to move on a number of defenders in this window, including Trevoh Chalobah, Benoit Badiashile and Axel Disasi, having already raised more than £130m from player sales and the compensation received from Manchester City for Enzo Maresca.