Crystal Palace agree Maxence Lacroix deal to ease defensive crisis

Crystal Palace have reached an agreement to sign Wolfsburg centre-back Maxence Lacroix.

The Eagles will pay an initial £15million plus £2.5m in add-ons for the 24-year-old French defender.

Lacroix played under current Palace head coach Oliver Glasner during his time in charge at Wolfsburg and made it clear this summer that he wanted to leave the German outfit.

Personal terms for a move to Selhurst Park have yet to be finalised. Palace have been in the market for a centre-back since selling Joachim Andersen to London rivals Fulham for £30m last week.

Newcastle are still hunting for a new centre-back of their own, and a prolonged pursuit of Palace’s newly-appointed captain Marc Guehi could go down to the wire, with the summer transfer window slamming shut at 11pm BST on Friday night.

Palace value Guehi at around £70m and hope to sign another centre-back if the England man is sold before the deadline. Lacroix’s arrival would not impact their pursuit of a second new central defender.

The Eagles face a centre-back crisis when they visit Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday after Chadi Riad, signed from Barcelona this summer for £12m plus £2m in add-ons, suffered possible knee ligament damage in Tuesday’s 4-0 Carabao Cup second-round win against Norwich.