Chelsea transfer spending soars to £280m mark as Maxence Lacroix announced

Chelsea have announced the signing of Maxence Lacroix from Crystal Palace.

The centre-back has moved from Selhurst Park to Stamford Bridge in a deal worth a guaranteed £52million.

Getty

Lacroix has become the fifth player to sign for Chelsea this summer, with fellow defender Marco Palestra joining from Atalanta for £47m.

A pre-agreed transfer for striker Emmanuel Emegha has been made official, with the Blues reportedly paying Strasbourg £22m.

Geovany Quenda is another new face after Chelsea hijacked a move from Manchester United to sign him from Sporting for £42m.

Chelsea have also broken the British transfer record with Morgan Rogers, who has arrived from Aston Villa in a £117m switch.

The Blues also remain in talks over the surprise signings of Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson, who have a combined age of 71.

Their summer spending has now reached at least £280m with the arrival of Lacroix.

“I am really happy to be part of this beautiful club,” Lacroix said upon signing. “Everyone knows the legend of Chelsea, its tradition of winning, and to be a part of that is a proud moment.

“When I spoke with the manager (Xabi Alonso), I saw that we have the same direction and desire for this club. We want to win.

“When you see the quality of the players here, everything we have around the club, it’s something that we can achieve.

“The ambition is to lift trophies, and I can’t wait to contribute.”

He added: “I think it’s the best move for me because it’s the best club in the world.

“I spoke with Malo. I spoke with Trev (Chalobah). I spoke with Benoit (Badiashile). It’s easy for people to speak well about this club because it has a lot of big history and I’m really proud to be a part of it now.

“I spoke with the manager on the phone. We spoke about tactics, we spoke about how he sees the game.

“First of all, I was happy just to speak about football with him, and I saw that we have the same direction and desire for this club.

“When I spoke with the gaffer, when I spoke also with the people I know from the national team who play for Chelsea, like Malo, they told me it was the best club I can go to.

“So already I was saying, ‘Okay, I don’t need to think too much’. After talking to people I said to myself, ‘This is the best step forward for me’.”

This is a developing story and is being updated.

For the latest updates, breaking news alerts, and comprehensive analysis, refresh this page or follow our real-time news coverage by watching and listening to talkSPORT live.

For broader context, explore related coverage on our homepage for the top trending stories. For the latest talkSPORT videos, download the app.

talkSPORT cares about getting it right, not just getting it first and because this is a developing situation, details will change. We will be updating this page constantly with verified info, expert takes, and official statements.

Stay tuned for further developments as this story continues to break.