You can say that the 2026 Chelsea FC summer transfer window was a bit of a “late bloomer.” Stamford Bridge started slow in the transfer market, certainly so by their standards, but they are absolutely cooking now. Crystal Palace central defender Maxence Lacroix has now completed his medical, which will soon make him a new Chelsea player. All we’re waiting on now is the signing of the paperwork, and the official announcement, which should come within the next day or two.
Here’s the latest report below, from transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.
🚨🔵 Maxence Lacroix completed his medical in London as new Chelsea player.
Clubs exchanging documents for £52m deal completed this week. pic.twitter.com/SLzrFUhE0v
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 25, 2026
Maxence Lacroix will move over for a transfer fee in the region of £52 million ($69.3 million), The Athletic and Romano both reported. Once Chelsea got Xabi Alonso in place as their manager, with all of that deal finalized, they were able to hit the transfer window pretty hard this month.
The 26-year-old Frenchman becomes the third signing of the Alonso era, behind Marco Palestra and Morgan Rogers, who the broke the club’s transfer fee record. With Palestra coming over on a deal worth £47m and Rogers making the move for £117m, their summer spend now comes to £216m.
For a lot of clubs, this would be uncharted territory in the summer transfer window. However, this is Chelsea, owners of multiple transfer spending records. They might even drop another £100m or so between now and Sept 1.
Do not expect Maxence Lacroix to feature on the Blues tour of Australia however. He might not even feature until the end of August, due to player welfare rules- football.london has more on why that is.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.