Maxence Lacroix made a big move from VfL Wolfsburg to Crystal Palace in the summer of 2024 for an €18m fee, which was below his market value of €20m at the time.
He recently received his first call-up to the France national team in March and played quite well, suggesting he could be called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
He has become a key player for Crystal Palace and their backline, and is now attracting attention from other European clubs who may have overlooked him from his years at Wolfsburg.
In this Maxence Lacroix scout report and player analysis, we examine how Maxence Lacroix has been playing at Crystal Palace this season, whether staying at the club is the right move or if someone comes sweeping in, what makes sense and where he should head next.
Maxence Lacroix Positioning
Maxence Lacroix is a very intelligent defender, and his positioning is, most of the time, spot on.
He remains an available option and in the passing lane to receive the ball.
Even if his positioning is off for the sequence, he is so rapid that he can track back and recover very well.
You would see the image below and think that the Colombian player would be in a 1v1 with the keeper, but Lacroix catches up and eliminates the threat.
He is tasked with an important role.
Lacroix is not a centre-back who covers behind the backline; he is given the role of stepping up and jumping into the midfield press.
Because of his pace, he can track down players and keep the press up, but can also drop back into the defensive line quickly.
We see it time and time again in his game: he is constantly making forward moves.
Whether at throw-ins or through opponents’ passes, he takes the chance to step up.
Maxence Lacroix On The Ball
Maxence Lacroix is a versatile centre-back; he fits seamlessly into a back-three or back-four system.
Many defenders see a drop in quality when they switch from a three to a four, or vice versa, but there is no such difference for Lacroix.
In the France squad, he recently played in a back-four formation, and he has prior experience with a back-four at Wolfsburg.
At Crystal Palace, he is very solid in the back-three as well.
He is comfortable as the central centre-back in a back-three, arguably the most important position of the three in the backline.
He is a very ambitious player; he often looks to play a long ball in behind.
It is mostly due to Crystal Palace’s tactics as well, but it shows the quality of his long balls.
It is hard to play every one perfectly, but many of them are accurate in terms of weight and speed.
When they are looking to transition into attack, he tries to shift from long balls to through passes.
He is very bold and is not shy of risky passes.
It isn’t often he’s trying to break the lines that boldly, but it shows that he can when the space is open.
The reason for his many attempts at long balls is because of Crystal Palace’s tactics, where they like to utilize the long ball and try to win the second ball.
A great test of a defender’s ball-playing ability and their ability to stay calm under pressure is to look at them in scenarios where they have to head the ball back to the keeper or shield it for the keeper.
Maxence Lacroix is very calm under pressure.
Here is one example of staying calm and heading the ball back to the keeper rather than panicking, which you see from many defenders.
He passes the test.
Maxence Lacroix Off The Ball
Maxence Lacroix is a huge asset in the press and recovery.
He knows how to put his body on the line and use his strength to shield the ball, but his pace is the biggest asset he has.
He averages 2.1 interceptions per 90 and 7.4 clearances per 90.
He finds himself at the ball before you have a chance to get the ball through or reach it.
Maxence Lacroix averages 1.9 tackles per 90, and at 6’5, he has the long legs to make difficult tackles.
He is often on time with his tackles, with a 61.2% success rate.
Here is an example of where we see his 1v1 defensive intelligence come into play.
He knows where the passing lane is behind him and quickly pivots to get in the way of the pass.
His off-the-ball intelligence and ability to place himself, especially in quick-attack moments from the other team, are part of why he got the France call-up.
France has a very attacking-minded team; they need players who can hold off counterattacks, and that requires intelligence.
This is why France has called him up, which touches back to when we talked earlier on how he steps up from the backline.
If they can win the ball back in areas like these, they can easily hit the ball forward to their rapid attackers in a counterattack.
It is a good risk-to-reward ratio to try to win the ball in this area of the pitch.
Should Maxence Lacroix Stay At Crystal Palace Or Leave?
Crystal Palace always seem to find themselves in mid-table, and after the departures of their best centre-back in Marc Guéhi and now Oliver Glasner leaving the club at the end of the 2025/2026 season, it looks like their mid-table struggles will continue.
They had great success last season, winning the FA Cup, and have a chance of winning the UEFA Conference League, but the future looks uncertain.
It is rumoured that one of their best midfield prospects, Adam Wharton, will be on his way out soon as well.
It looks like a move out would be best for his career, but what are some realistic options?
Liverpool have been linked with Maxence Lacroix, but it does not look like the right move, playing-wise.
There will likely be another year or two of sitting behind their main centre-backs before he gets regular playing time.
Aston Villa have battled injuries at centre-back and could use a player of his quality and Premier League-proven experience to strengthen their defensive line and add depth.
The move makes sense as Unai Emery asks his centre-backs to defend big spaces and hold a fairly aggressive line at times.
Because of his rapid speed and experience of stepping higher up the line to press into midfield, he could be very useful in terms of defensive strength for the club.
Maxence Lacroix is right footed and this would allow Pau Torres to keep his role of being the LCB.
This looks to be the best duo pairing for a hypothetical transfer, one to play aggressive while the other is more of a technical center back.
Another realistic option could be Borussia Dortmund.
He knows the German league very well from his time at Wolfsburg, and a move back to the league would suit him well, giving him Champions League football every season to gain European playing experience.
Dortmund could use a back-three system, with Maxence Lacroix in the centre alongside Nico Schlotterbeck and Niklas Süle; this would be a top defensive back line in all of Europe, and one of the fastest.
For a German league that is typically played with a lot of open space, this backline would cover a lot of depth on the pitch with their pace.
Conclusion
Maxence Lacroix seems to have the ball rolling in the right direction for his career right now, winning the FA Cup and getting called up for the France national team.
He needs to make a jump to another club that plays consistently in Europe to keep progressing forward.
He could very well be a vital player in the French backline in a few years.
