Better than Colwill: Chelsea could see £34m bid accepted to sign new defender

Chelsea have fallen by the wayside this season, but with Xabi Alonso soon to arrive, there’s every chance that the future is bright for this club.

After being defeated by Sunderland on the final day of the 2025/26 Premier League season, Chelsea have been condemned to a tenth-place finish. They will not compete in Europe next season.

This casts plenty of uncertainty out onto the expanse of the new season, but Alonso will at least have a single-minded focus, with a reduced fixture schedule to secure an optimum finish, hopefully in the Champions League positions.

Chelsea need to make significant progress this summer, with a revised transfer strategy. Much will be made of the attacking additions needed to return to the top, but the Blues also need to make some changes at the back.

Chelsea receive boost in centre-back chase

Chelsea are set to have a fully-fit Levi Colwill to help them through the 2026/27 season. The England international, who has missed out on Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad, has just returned from an ACL injury that has kept him out for the majority of the year.

Alonso’s system will require fast-moving and hard-working defenders, willing to start attacks from deep and pick out forward teammates. Colwill has talent around him, but Wesley Fofana’s end-of-the-season red card makes a firm comment on the fragilities and lack of temperment that has underpinned Chelsea’s turbulent season.

A new centre-half could go down a treat, and with reports in France revealing that Maxence Lacroix is set to leave Crystal Palace this summer, BlueCo could land the perfect new star.

Lacroix has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge this month, considered to be in line to be Alonso’s first signing. He’s being valued at £34m by the Eagles who would be ready to let him go if that asking price is met, but Chelsea will hope for a more agreeable fee.

Should Chelsea decide to cash in on Fofana, or another of their myriad defenders, this might just be the perfect deal for Todd Boehly and co to complete at the start of a new era.

Why Lacroix could be a Colwill upgrade for Chelsea

Colwill’s natural aptitude on the ball underlines the reasoning behind securing his signature. However, he’s been out for a long time, and though a full pre-season under Alonso’s management could bear dividends for him, Lacroix has been performing at an elite level for Oliver Glasner over the past several years.

Chelsea finished tenth in the Premier League, and in regard to xGA, they also finished tenth, underscoring defensive issues that are preventing them from making headway and challenging them at the top of the table.

Lacroix could fix that. The France star won 61% of his duels in the Premier League this season, and given that he won almost six duels per game only underscores the kind of physical presence Alonso would welcome to the fold.

Colwill, 23, only started two Premier League games this season due to his injury troubles, but he featured prominently under Enzo Maresca last year, winning only 53% of his ground battles and making five direct errors. He left a lot to be desired, and may actually benefit from having someone like Lacroix alongside him.

The 6 foot 3 defender is athletic and sure of himself in defensive situations, a talented distributor too. He completed 49% of his long balls this season, putting him in the top bracket for such passes.

By combining the slick and stylish passing that Colwill brings with the meaty, physical defending that Chelsea have taken too far this term, receiving so many bookings and dismissals throughout, Lacroix could shepherd changes at the start of a new chapter, the perfect blend to lead from the back under Alonso’s wing.

In truth, Chelsea have a squad chock-full with talented players, but they have not played as a team, all fighting for each other and the same goal.

Alonso will brook no negative mindsets in west London next season, and Fofana embodies that. Colwill, it must be said, has always shown that he will fight for the badge, but by signing Lacroix, Alonso might just get his hands on an upgrade.