Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea : a prospect or a liability? - By Siddarth Malik

Maxence Lacroix, the 21 year old french international playing for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga has recently come into the limelight due to him being linked the blues of west London, none other than Chelsea. He has had a breakthrough season at Wolfsburg. As Chelsea's back three, although playing great, ageing like fine wine does raise a question on what to expect in the future. As the competitions keep getting tougher and tougher a proper back-line definitely offers an advantage. Lacroix has averaged more tackles, interceptions and recoveries than any of Chelsea's current defensive options and hence proves to be a viable option. He is a proactive defender who likes to get a hold of the ball and could potentially help Chelsea win the ball higher up the field. He can play a more active in possession if given the opportunity.

The one area where he does take a tumble are his aerial duels and with Chelsea sticking to the back three system for now it is very important for them to win the aerial duels, as seen in the champions league final. He averages a 53% aerial duel success rate, far behind Andreas Christensen's 67% which is the lowest among the Chelsea defence. His heat map shows immense versatility ranging up to the halfway line. As in every upcoming talent; potential is nothing but speculation until proved on a consistent basis. Regardless at a fee of just over 25 million euros, he could prove to be a good signing for the blues. He still has room for improvement but with him being greeted with great promise, patience would also be important.

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