Maxence Lacroix: Chelsea's New Set-Piece Weapon

As Fantasy Premier League managers piece together their first drafts for 2026/27, one question at the back is already looming large: is Maxence Lacroix really worth £6.0m?

The answer may rest as much with Xabi Alonso as with the Frenchman himself.

From Palace lynchpin to Chelsea pillar?

Lacroix arrives at Stamford Bridge off the back of two outstanding seasons at Crystal Palace, where he anchored the middle of a back three in a 3-4-2-1 system. That role suited him perfectly. He read danger early, dominated his box and, crucially for Fantasy, hoovered up the new Defensive Contribution (DC) points.

Last season he finished on 154 points, seventh among all defenders. One goal, two assists, 11 clean sheets and a hefty 40 DC points built that total. Those DC returns are no fluke or one-season spike; they’re the product of a profile that thrives in a three-man defence.

That’s where Alonso comes in. The new Chelsea head coach used wing-backs to devastating effect at Bayer Leverkusen. If he repeats that blueprint in west London, Lacroix instantly becomes one of the most intriguing defensive picks in the game. If he leans towards a back four, the equation changes.

Pre-season will tell us plenty. For now, the data from Selhurst Park tells us even more.

An elite DC machine

Look at Lacroix through the DC lens and his appeal sharpens.

Had the DC metric existed in 2024/25, he would have banked 34 DC points, a figure beaten by only four defenders: James Tarkowski, Jan Bednarek, Dean Huijsen and Murillo. He sat level with Wout Faes and Dara O’Shea on that mark.

Fast forward to 2025/26, the first official season with DC in Fantasy, and Lacroix climbed to 40 DC points, with only two names ahead of him: Marcos Senesi (50) and Tarkowski (44), both also priced at £6.0m.

The pattern is clear. Across the last two campaigns, Tarkowski and Lacroix are the only defenders to rank inside the top five for DC in both seasons. That’s not noise; that’s consistency at the very top end of defensive involvement.

If you’re paying a premium for a defender, you want someone who delivers even when the clean sheets dry up. Lacroix fits that profile.

More than meets the eye at set-pieces

On the surface, his attacking returns look modest: one goal and two assists in each of his Palace seasons. Solid, nothing spectacular.

The underlying numbers tell a different story.

Last season he produced 15 headed shots from set-pieces and 23 shots from set-pieces in total. Both figures ranked among the top 10 defenders in Fantasy. They were also identical to Arsenal’s Gabriel, who turned similar volume into three goals and five assists.

Go back to 2024/25 and Lacroix was the standout in his position for set-piece volume: 27 shots from dead-ball situations, 20 of them headers. No defender took more. That headed tally was only matched by Nikola Milenkovic and Virgil van Dijk, who converted their chances into five and three goals respectively.

The raw numbers underline it:

• 2024/25: 20 headed shots from set-pieces, 27 total set-piece shots – 1st among defenders in both categories
• 2025/26: 15 headed shots, 23 total – still inside the top 10 for defenders

The chances are there. The finishing hasn’t quite caught up yet. In Fantasy terms, that’s often where value lives.

Chelsea’s glaring weakness – and why Lacroix matters

Chelsea badly need what Lacroix brings in the air.

Last season, only two Chelsea defenders managed more than three headed shots from set-pieces: Trevoh Chalobah and Wesley Fofana. Chalobah’s 12 total shots from set-pieces were the highest in the Blues’ backline, but still barely half of Lacroix’s 23 for Palace. Fofana mustered eight shots from set-pieces in 20 starts.

The rest of the list underlines the problem:

• Chalobah: 9 headed, 12 total (31 starts)
• Fofana: 6 headed, 8 total (20 starts)
• Acheampong: 3 headed, 3 total (8 starts)
• Tosin: 2 headed, 2 total (8 starts)
• Reece James: 0 headed, 10 total (20 starts)
• Malo Gusto: 0 headed, 3 total (26 starts)

James’ numbers are particularly telling. Ten shots from set-pieces, none of them headers. He can deliver the ball, he can attack it at the back post in open play, but he isn’t the towering target in the middle.

Lacroix is.

With Chalobah linked with a move away and Fofana sidelined until September, a back three built around Lacroix feels almost inevitable if Alonso wants aerial presence. The Frenchman could line up with James and Levi Colwill either side, giving Chelsea a blend of height, passing range and aggression that they’ve often lacked in both boxes.

Colwill vs Lacroix: the value debate

Colwill will tempt many managers at £5.0m, especially if Alonso leans towards a back four where the cheaper defender might see just as many minutes.

His 2024/25 numbers show there is some set-piece threat there. In 35 starts that season, Colwill had 14 shots from set-pieces, nine of them headers. Then came an injury-hit 2025/26, when he managed only two starts and no set-piece efforts at all.

Set those figures against Lacroix over the same period:

• Lacroix 2024/25: 27 set-piece shots, 20 headers, 35 starts
• Lacroix 2025/26: 23 set-piece shots, 15 headers, 35 starts
• Colwill 2024/25: 14 set-piece shots, 9 headers, 35 starts
• Colwill 2025/26: 0 shots, 0 headers, 2 starts

Across two full campaigns, Lacroix averaged 17.5 headed shots from set-pieces per season. Colwill managed nine in his one full year as a regular. The gap is stark.

Factor in Chelsea’s lack of European football, and there’s a realistic hope that both James and Colwill can be managed more carefully after their fitness issues. That opens the door to value at £5.0m and £5.5m.

But if you want a defender you can lock in, forget about, and trust to grind out points from multiple angles, Lacroix is built for that role.

So, is £6.0m too much?

It comes down to how you want to structure your defence.

If you’re loading up on premium forwards and midfielders and scraping for value at the back, Lacroix may feel a luxury. Colwill at £5.0m, or even James at £5.5m if he looks sharp and nailed, will appeal in that scenario, especially if Alonso settles on a back four.

If your plan is to invest heavily in “set and forget” defenders and hunt bargains higher up the pitch, the Frenchman suddenly makes far more sense. He’s an elite DC performer, a proven aerial weapon, and he steps into a side that has been crying out for exactly his profile.

The final piece is Alonso’s system. If pre-season shows a three-man defence with Lacroix at its heart and a clear set-piece plan built around him, that £6.0m price tag might not just be justified.

It might end up looking cheap.