Baku: Chelsea have completed the signing of Maxence Lacroix from Crystal Palace in a deal worth £51m, Sky Sports reported. The 26-year-old central defender has signed a six-year contract at Stamford Bridge. Lacroix's arrival takes the club's spending to beyond £250m this summer.

According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, Lacroix becomes the first player Chelsea have signed for a fee aged 26 or over since the summer of 2022, with the club also set to complete deals for 35-year-old Danny Welbeck and 36-year-old Jordan Henderson. This is a deliberate change in transfer policy from Chelsea to target more experienced players that has been embraced by new manager Xabi Alonso.

Palace were seeking around £55m in negotiations, given the fee Tottenham paid for Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton. Chelsea are expected to move on a number of defenders in this window, including Trevoh Chalobah, Benoit Badiashile, and Axel Disasi, having already raised more than £130m from player sales and the compensation received from Manchester City for Enzo Maresca.