Maxence Lacroix: Chelsea’s Premium FPL Enforcer

Xabi Alonso has barely walked through the doors at Stamford Bridge, but one thing is already clear: how he sets up Chelsea’s defence will decide whether Maxence Lacroix is a luxury or a must-have in 2026/27 Fantasy Premier League.

The £6.0m centre-back arrives with a price tag that demands trust. He also arrives with numbers that are hard to ignore.

DC royalty in a back three

At Crystal Palace, Lacroix was the calm at the heart of a 3-4-2-1, stationed in the middle of three centre-backs for the past two seasons. It suited him. Fantasy managers reaped the rewards.

Last season he produced 154 points, seventh among all defenders, built on one goal, two assists, 11 clean sheets and a hefty 40 Defensive Contribution (DC) points.

The DC metric, introduced in Fantasy in 2025/26, has quickly become a key measure for centre-backs who do the ugly work. Lacroix is already near the top of that food chain.

Look back to 2024/25, when DC wasn’t yet live in the game. Apply today’s scoring to that season and Lacroix would have earned 34 DC points, a tally beaten by only four defenders. Across those two campaigns, he sits in rare company: only James Tarkowski joins him in the top five for DC in both seasons.

The numbers underline it:

• 2024/25 (retrospective DC): 34 points, level with Dara O’Shea and just behind Wout Faes and Murillo
• 2025/26 (official DC): 40 points, bettered only by Marcos Senesi (50) and Tarkowski (44)

This is not a one-season spike. It’s a pattern. Give Lacroix a three-man defence and he will rack up defensive actions.

If Alonso leans on the back-three and wing-back blueprint he used at Bayer Leverkusen, Lacroix’s DC output instantly becomes one of the most reliable premium sources in the game.

More than a blocker: a set-piece weapon

On the surface, Lacroix’s attacking returns look modest: one goal and two assists in each of his two years at Palace. Solid, not spectacular.

The underlying data tells a different story.

Last season he ranked among the top 10 defenders for both headed shots from set-pieces (15) and total shots from set-pieces (23). Those figures are identical to Arsenal’s Gabriel, who turned his into three goals and five assists.

Go back another year and the picture sharpens. In 2024/25, no defender in Fantasy had more shots from set-pieces than Lacroix’s 27. No defender had more headed efforts either: 20. Only Nikola Milenkovic and Virgil van Dijk could match that aerial volume, and they turned theirs into five and three goals respectively.

Lacroix’s set-piece profile across the last two seasons:

• 2024/25: 27 shots from set-pieces, 20 of them headers (1st among defenders in both)
• 2025/26: 23 shots from set-pieces, 15 of them headers (joint-10th and joint-6th respectively)

The conclusion is blunt. He gets into the right areas, again and again. The finishing hasn’t yet matched the volume, but the platform for a breakout season is already in place.

Why Chelsea need him – and why FPL managers are watching

Chelsea’s existing centre-backs simply haven’t offered that same aerial punch in the opposition box.

Last season, only Trevoh Chalobah and Wesley Fofana managed more than three headed shots from set-pieces in the league. Chalobah recorded nine headed efforts and 12 total set-piece shots; Fofana six and eight. Both fall well short of Lacroix’s 23 attempts for Palace.

Reece James, by contrast, took 10 shots from set-pieces but none with his head, highlighting his role as a taker rather than a target. Levi Colwill barely featured in 2025/26, starting just twice, so his numbers stalled.

To see Colwill’s true threat, you have to rewind to 2024/25. Across 35 starts that season, he registered 14 shots from set-pieces, nine of them headers. Strong numbers, but still overshadowed by Lacroix over the same period.

Match them up:

• Lacroix, 2024/25: 27 set-piece shots, 20 headers, 35 starts
• Lacroix, 2025/26: 23 set-piece shots, 15 headers, 35 starts
• Colwill, 2024/25: 14 set-piece shots, nine headers, 35 starts

On average, Lacroix has delivered 17.5 headed set-piece shots per season over the last two campaigns. Colwill’s best single season as a regular starter comes in at nine.

That’s the gap Chelsea are trying to close in both boxes.

The Alonso question

So much now hangs on Alonso’s whiteboard.

He has used wing-backs and a back three to great effect before, and Chelsea’s summer friendlies will reveal whether he intends to replicate that structure in the Premier League. If he does, Lacroix becomes the natural anchor of that trio, with James and Colwill likely candidates to flank him.

The context around the squad only strengthens his case. Chalobah is being linked with a move away. Fofana is out until September. James is easing back from yet another injury-hit year. Colwill is looking to re-establish himself after a long spell on the sidelines.

In that landscape, Lacroix walks in as the fit, durable constant. He has started 35 league matches in each of the last two seasons. FPL managers searching for “set and forget” defenders know how rare that profile is.

Is £6.0m worth it?

That’s the crux for Fantasy managers.

If your strategy is to lock in a couple of premium defensive assets, play them every week and chase value further forward, Lacroix offers almost everything you want from a centre-back at that price:

• Elite DC output in a three-man defence
• Proven durability and 35-start seasons
• Heavy involvement at attacking set-pieces
• A manager who has previously maximised the value of ball-playing, aggressive centre-backs

If Alonso opts for a back four, the calculation changes slightly. Lacroix would still be a strong DC pick, but the ceiling might drop a touch, and the door would open wider for Colwill at £5.0m as a cheaper route into the Chelsea backline.

James, at £5.5m, will always tempt managers with his explosive upside. Yet Chelsea’s absence from European competition this season could quietly tilt the scales towards their centre-backs. Fewer midweek fixtures, less rotation, reduced injury risk: it all feeds into the appeal of those who can stay on the pitch.

Right now, Lacroix looks built for that role. The numbers say he’s ready. The price says you have to believe it.

The only piece missing is Alonso’s system. Once that drops into place in pre-season, we’ll find out whether Lacroix is just another premium option – or the defensive cornerstone around which serious FPL squads are built.