Who could Crystal Palace sign at centre back to replace Maxence Lacroix

It is set to be a hugely turbulent transfer window for Crystal Palace this summer, as the Eagles try not to lose a key player once again.

But, despite their obvious preference not to, and the strength being in the Europa League brings, the summer is long, and it is seeming increasingly unlikely that Palace will be able to keep hold of some of their biggest talents.

Adam Wharton is being linked to Tottenham, Chelsea and Liverpool, while Maxence Lacroix, who is supposedly also of interest to Bayern Munich and Liverpool, is in advanced talks to move to Stamford Bridge this summer.

That would be a major blow to Crystal Palace, with Lacroix developing into their defensive leader in the wake of Marc Guehi’s move to Manchester City last January.

Lacroix confidently adopted that central defender role in the back three and became the vice captain under goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

But, after two seasons in which he was hugely influential as Palace went on to win the FA Cup, Community Shield and Conference League, it appears Lacroix’s time at Crystal Palace is about to come to an end.

And so, who could replace him at Selhurst Park?

A player I have mentioned before as someone that the Eagles could sign from the World Cup, Ordonez has been a top performer both for club and country.

At the World Cup, he played a starring role as Ecuador advanced out of the group stages with a famous 2-1 win over Germany, while for Club Brugge he was again essential, playing in as many as 43 matches across all competitions.

He has the pace, power, height and ability to score goals that could make him an excellent Lacroix replacement and his fee of around the £25 million mark would be about where Palace would be looking.

Crystal Palace had success with signing young French defenders when Janvee Canvot slotted in seamlessly after Guehi’s departure.

Well, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?

Zeze may have left Ligue 1 side Nantes last summer to head to the Saudi Pro League and join Neom but he remains only 21.

As a left footer and another very young defender, he may not quite fit the exact profile of someone who can fully replace Lacroix, but he certainly has the potential to be a top defender, and with Palace needing to replace Guehi anyway, they may well sign two centre-backs this summer.

Sticking to the French theme, if Palace do want someone with a bit more experience, then maybe Oumar Solet is the perfect man to replace Lacroix.

At 26, Solet has been around the block a bit for Lyon, RB Salzburg and Udinese.

His 6ft4 frame show he likely can match the physical demands of the Premier league, while his price too would likely be in around Palace’s target range.