{"id":672594,"date":"2026-07-20T16:37:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T20:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=672594"},"modified":"2026-07-20T16:37:44","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T20:37:44","slug":"crystal-palace-defenders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2026\/07\/20\/crystal-palace-defenders\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Centre-Backs Crystal Palace Could Sign amid Maxence Lacroix Uncertainty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Crystal Palace are braced for interest in France international Maxence Lacroix following his first FIFA World Cup. According to reports<\/span><\/a>, Chelsea are keen and Palace have priced the defender at more than \u00a355m.<\/p>\n

If Lacroix leaves, Palace will have lost both of their first-choice centre-backs in consecutive transfer windows following Marc Gu\u00e9hi’s departure in January.<\/p>\n

With Palace preparing for their maiden Europa League campaign under Pierre Sage, the Eagles will need to identify a suitable replacement for Lacroix, with several centre-backs emerging as potential options this summer.<\/p>\n

Potential Centre-Back Options for Crystal Palace<\/b><\/p>\n

Who Could Crystal Palace Sign to Replace Lacroix: Chrislain Matsima<\/b><\/p>\n

The Eagles have already shown interest in Matsima with the centre half being one of many on the club\u2019s shortlist.<\/span><\/a>Matsima impressed with Augsburg at the start of the season before a tendon tear brought his campaign to a premature end.<\/p>\n

The French defender came through the youth ranks at Monaco before gaining a reputation at Augsburg as a very solid Bundesliga defender, making him an appealing option to replace the potential loss of Maxence Lacroix.<\/p>\n

Palace\u2019s interest in Matsima makes sense with the centre-back being comfortable with the ball at his feet as well as getting praise for his pace and aerial ability.<\/p>\n

Despite no formal bid being made yet, the Eagles are understood to hold an interest in the 24-year-old, with a potential move something to monitor in the coming weeks. Matsima\u2019s profile could make him an appealing addition to Crystal Palace\u2019s defensive options this summer.<\/p>\n

Read More<\/b>: Crystal Palace Plot Move for Player Dubbed A Real Gem<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Charlie Cresswell<\/b><\/p>\n

The Englishman is another defender that is reportedly on Palace\u2019s transfer list, with reports outlining that the defender would be in the \u00a320m range<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Leeds academy graduate has enjoyed two excellent seasons with Toulouse and a return to English football could be on the cards.<\/p>\n

Cresswell is a two-time UEFA European Under-21 Championship winner with England, playing the full 90 minutes in the most recent triumph last summer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The defender moved to France in 2024 and has earned praise for his dominant defensive style, particularly his aerial ability and physical presence.<\/p>\n

Standing at 6ft 3in, the defender would provide greater aerial presence to the Palace defence, with his ability to win duels in the air a valuable asset at Selhurst Park. Cresswell also offers a threat at the other end of the pitch, scoring four goals in each of his seasons with Toulouse, including a strike against PSG earlier this season.<\/p>\n

Read More<\/b>: Top Five Greatest Manager Rants<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Trevoh Chalobah<\/b><\/p>\n

A return to Palace for the Chelsea defender would make sense but the Eagles would have to fight off Italian opposition for his signature. The Englishman played 52 times for Chelsea in all competitions and earned a late World Cup call-up for the Three Lions.<\/p>\n

Chalobah\u2019s form has captured the interest of both Inter and Como in Italy, but a move from Palace could sway the defender\u2019s mind in the direction of South London. Chalobah played 14 times for the Eagles at the start of the 2024\/25 campaign before being recalled by Chelsea in the January window.<\/p>\n

The centre-back formed part of a dependable back three alongside Maxence Lacroix and Marc Gu\u00e9hi during his loan spell, but was unfortunate to miss out on Palace’s FA Cup-winning triumph after being recalled by Chelsea before the tournament begun.<\/p>\n

Chalobah would bring proven Premier League quality and experience, as well as the advantage of already knowing much of the Palace squad. With the Eagles preparing for a campaign that includes European football, the defender could become a vital member of Pierre Sage’s squad, with depth essential across four competitions.<\/p>\n

Read More: <\/b>Greatest Footballers of All Time: Pre World War One<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Ousmane Diomande<\/b><\/p>\n

Crystal Palace have a long-standing interest in the Ivorian centre-back after reportedly<\/span><\/a> coming close to securing his signature last summer. Diomande would without doubt be the most expensive incoming with a \u00a369 million pound release clause<\/span><\/a> in his contract but reports<\/span><\/a> have outlined that Sporting are open to offers of around \u00a343m.<\/p>\n

Maxence Lacroix\u2019s potential departure would give Palace the finances to afford the Ivorian, and Diomande would be an exciting like-for-like transfer. The 22-year-old has established himself as one of the brightest young defenders in Portugal and has made 18 Champions League appearances across the last two seasons.<\/p>\n

Diomande would bring pace and composure to the Eagles and despite his young age, he has developed into a real leader for the Portuguese giants. Pierre Sage sides revolve around quick transitions and the Ivorians’ ability to break opposition lines as well as move the ball forward himself, making him an appealing option.<\/p>\n

Securing a transfer would undoubtedly be challenging, but Diomande has all the attributes to become a long term leader at Palace should the club be able to complete such an ambitious transfer.<\/p>\n

Christian Mawissa<\/b><\/p>\n

Crystal Palace have enjoyed considerable success recruiting French centre-backs in recent years, so another move into that market would make perfect sense.<\/p>\n

Christian Mawissa is part of the France Under-21 setup and has already developed a strong connection with current Palace defender Jaydee Canvot, having played alongside him at both Toulouse and international youth level.<\/p>\n

Mawissa is currently at Monaco, having made 22 appearances in all competitions last season, including three in the Champions League. The 21-year-old is a ball-playing defender who is comfortable operating on either side of the defence and even at wing-back, making him a potentially excellent option for Pierre Sage.<\/p>\n

Palace have shown a previous willingness to sign French prospects and with Jaydee Canvot\u2019s success last season, a similar move could be on the cards for Mawissa.<\/p>\n

While Mawissa may represent a longer-term replacement for Lacroix, his profile matches the Crystal Palace recruitment strategy of identifying talent before their breakthrough.<\/p>\n

Featured Image Credit<\/b>:<\/p>\n

IMAGO \/ Action Plus<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Crystal Palace are braced for interest in France international Maxence Lacroix following his first FIFA World Cup. According to reports, Chelsea are keen and Palace have priced the defender at more than \u00a355m. If Lacroix leaves, Palace will have lost both of their first-choice centre-backs in consecutive transfer windows following Marc Gu\u00e9hi’s departure in January. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5900,"featured_media":631459,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11,12,30,3],"tags":[9288,32898,9328,31681,31662,8748],"class_list":["post-672594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea","category-crystal-palace","category-news","category-premier-league","tag-charlie-cresswell","tag-christian-mawissa","tag-crystal-palace-transfer-rumours","tag-maxence-lacroix","tag-ousmane-diomande","tag-trevoh-chalobah"],"modified_by":"Ricky Carroll, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5900"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672594"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":672614,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672594\/revisions\/672614"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/631459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}