Lacroix

He's an annoying little sh*t but he's proven in the World Cup that he's one of the best annoying little sh*ts in the world... Hence why Madrid have signed him.
A handful of 2026 World Cup games versus 150 Premier League games that say differently.
 
A high-energy attacking left-back who is a good-passer of a ball, tenacious and is not afraid to put in a tackle.
All very well to make tackles and you would expect him to, but if you're not winning those tackles that's not ideal.
 
When Elliot Anderson has just gone for 115m, yes it is peanuts.

That's how the market is now. We are trailing behind the times with our valuations.

He is statistically better than every other defender at Chelsea. He played practically every minute of our long season.

51m in this market gets you an average defender. Cucurella has just gone for the same fee, so has Van Hecker. Lacroix is well above both of them, and had 3 years left on his contract.
Here's a list of the 10 most expensive centre backs of all time (all fees in euros per my source).
  1. Gvardiol to Citeh 90m in 2023
  2. Maguire to Manure 87m in 2019
  3. de Ligt to Juve for 85.5m in 2019
  4. Van Digt to Liverpool for 84.65m in 2018
  5. Fofana to Chelsea for 80.4m in 2022
  6. Dias to Citeh for 71.6m in 2020
  7. de Ligt to Bayern for 67m in 2022
  8. Laporte to Citeh for 65m in 2017
  9. Jacquet to Liverpool for 63.6m in 2026
  10. Zabarnyi to PSG for 63m in 2025

What is noticeable is how long ago most of these were and only 2 of them were in the last 12 months, both at the bottom of that list. In other words when it comes to player inflation it's not hitting the CB market. Consequently, getting 60m euros for Lacroix doesn't look bad against the above backdrop at all. Fees for midfielders, strikers and wingers etc. are on a different level, so comparing the fee for Lacroix to that for Anderson is unfair.
 
Selling our best players who still.had a decent time on their contract without signing a replacement shows yet again a distinct lack of ambition on the part of ye club.

We should have been looking towards adding to the squad as we have a difficult Europa league campaign ahead but instead we sell arguably one of our best player's..


Too early to say if this is a good or bad move
 
He is at his peak value post World Cup (not that he was that great in it). If we have a poor season next year, our players value diminishes and he becomes a 30m player, a year older and shorter contract. Its a gamble. Would we pay 70m for a Lacrouix duplicate if that was an option? 49m for Larsen was extreme and he is a "good" striker who are like rocking horse poop.
Good point. Perhaps the club just didn't want to gamble. Still though, it doesn't seem like a good price, and when you factor in the likely cost of an adequate replacement, it's still hard to understand.
 
I think most people were satisfied with Dougie's record.

There is a reason why Man Utd, Newcastle, and others were sniffing around for him, and in the end he was poached by the Saudis.

I can't say I've heard of anyone who's praised Hobbes' work since he's been in South London. I would certainly have some questions for them if they did.
Freedman did a good job at Palace as a DoF but he gets way to much credit for some signings he had nothing to do with. This is mainly the media's fault because the reel off a long list of players signed during his time at the club and credit him with every one of them, leaving fans that dont know any different to think he was some kind of messiah. There are a lot of players that were successful at Palace that were recommended by back room staff, friends, contacts, ex players of the club.
Doesn't mean Freedman didn't do a good job. Its naive however to think he was the sole reason we signed a lot of decent players around that time.
 
Here's a list of the 10 most expensive centre backs of all time (all fees in euros per my source).
  1. Gvardiol to Citeh 90m in 2023
  2. Maguire to Manure 87m in 2019
  3. de Ligt to Juve for 85.5m in 2019
  4. Van Digt to Liverpool for 84.65m in 2018
  5. Fofana to Chelsea for 80.4m in 2022
  6. Dias to Citeh for 71.6m in 2020
  7. de Ligt to Bayern for 67m in 2022
  8. Laporte to Citeh for 65m in 2017
  9. Jacquet to Liverpool for 63.6m in 2026
  10. Zabarnyi to PSG for 63m in 2025

What is noticeable is how long ago most of these were and only 2 of them were in the last 12 months, both at the bottom of that list. In other words when it comes to player inflation it's not hitting the CB market. Consequently, getting 60m euros for Lacroix doesn't look bad against the above backdrop at all. Fees for midfielders, strikers and wingers etc. are on a different level, so comparing the fee for Lacroix to that for Anderson is unfair.
Excellent work DB! Puts a slightly different spin on things.

Mind you, no two transfers are quite the same, and the price inevitably goes up if the buyer is more desperate to buy then the seller is to sell which, from the outside looking in, does rather seem to be case regarding the Lacroix deal.

A good few of the deals above seem to come into that type of category. I still can't help but have sympathy for the idea that we could have pushed for more.

Still, as others have days, is he that good? Would Chelsea not just have walked away?
 
Here's a list of the 10 most expensive centre backs of all time (all fees in euros per my source).
  1. Gvardiol to Citeh 90m in 2023
  2. Maguire to Manure 87m in 2019
  3. de Ligt to Juve for 85.5m in 2019
  4. Van Digt to Liverpool for 84.65m in 2018
  5. Fofana to Chelsea for 80.4m in 2022
  6. Dias to Citeh for 71.6m in 2020
  7. de Ligt to Bayern for 67m in 2022
  8. Laporte to Citeh for 65m in 2017
  9. Jacquet to Liverpool for 63.6m in 2026
  10. Zabarnyi to PSG for 63m in 2025

What is noticeable is how long ago most of these were and only 2 of them were in the last 12 months, both at the bottom of that list. In other words when it comes to player inflation it's not hitting the CB market. Consequently, getting 60m euros for Lacroix doesn't look bad against the above backdrop at all. Fees for midfielders, strikers and wingers etc. are on a different level, so comparing the fee for Lacroix to that for Anderson is unfair.
Jacquet for 63 million and he's an unproven 21 year old who we were looking at as an understudy to Max a year ago.

How much does that put Lacroix at then? 100m?
 
A handful of 2026 World Cup games versus 150 Premier League games that say differently.

He's been consistently Chelsea's best player this season. Maybe not the highest mark of quality but most pundits agree he's moved into the elite level of full-back. Don't get me wrong I still find him very annoying whenever I see him play. However I have softened against him recently after he helped stop Argentina winning the World Cup and have also read a few articles with him discussing his autistic son - and he comes across as quite a nice guy (just not on the pitch).
 
A handful of 2026 World Cup games versus 150 Premier League games that say differently.
He is the first choice for the country’s that has won the Euros, the World Cup and has the longest unbeaten run of any European nation, ever. A team that conceded one goal in the whole World Cup. He wasn’t bad for Chelsea either. Honestly he’s probably the best left back in world football right now. To say he is rubbish is ignoring facts.
 
Not great to lose an important player to us but we have been here before and likely again. Brighter news is that Newcastle look to be in free fall and could have a rocky season. Also the promoted teams have been very quiet on the transfer front compared to the ones last season. Not too long to the beginning of the season so they probably need to get their skates on. A Bristol City fan friend saw them all last season and felt they were pretty ropey especially Hull. COYP !!
 
He is the first choice for the country’s that has won the Euros, the World Cup and has the longest unbeaten run of any European nation, ever. A team that conceded one goal in the whole World Cup. He wasn’t bad for Chelsea either. Honestly he’s probably the best left back in world football right now. To say he is rubbish is ignoring facts.
He is a c***, though.
 
Not great to lose an important player to us but we have been here before and likely again. Brighter news is that Newcastle look to be in free fall and could have a rocky season. Also the promoted teams have been very quiet on the transfer front compared to the ones last season. Not too long to the beginning of the season so they probably need to get their skates on. A Bristol City fan friend saw them all last season and felt they were pretty ropey especially Hull. COYP !!
Newcastle have of course sold Gordon and other key players will depart in this 'Window'.
They have however signed 4 players for a sum which could exceed £100 Mill.
 
Not great to lose an important player to us but we have been here before and likely again. Brighter news is that Newcastle look to be in free fall and could have a rocky season. Also the promoted teams have been very quiet on the transfer front compared to the ones last season. Not too long to the beginning of the season so they probably need to get their skates on. A Bristol City fan friend saw them all last season and felt they were pretty ropey especially Hull. COYP !!
Ipswich thus far have signed 8 players.
Coventry and Hull have both signed 3 players.
 

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