Maxence Lacroix remains away from Crystal Palace with France still at the World Cup, although Chelsea are lurking.
The Athletic say the west Londoners remain seriously interested in the Frenchman and have made him a priority in the transfer market this summer, although any deal hinges on Crystal Palace signing a replacement.
Oscar Mingueza – who can play as a central defender – is expected to challenge Daniel Munoz on the right, so the Spaniard is not a replacement for Lacroix.
As Chelsea wait for the Eagles to find a replacement, those at Stamford Bridge – and some Crystal Palace fans too – might be irked to hear that Matt Hobbs has lost out on Aurele Amenda to Coventry.
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The Athletic believe Crystal Palace showed late interest in signing the Switzerland international, but the centre-back is set to proceed with his £17.2m move to Coventry.
That will surely irritate Chelsea, as the longer it takes Crystal Palace to find a replacement for Lacroix, the later Xabi Alonso can expect to welcome the France international into his squad – although that is not our problem.
For Crystal Palace fans, the main concern will be as to why – if we truly wanted Amenda – Hobbs waited until Coventry had already struck an agreement with the defender and Eintracht Frankfurt before expressing interest.
There was initially an approach to sign Charlie Cresswell from Toulouse, but the former Leeds defender has since agreed terms with Rennes and looks set to stay in Ligue 1.
Therefore – judging by reports at least – the hunt for Lacroix’s replacement is not going well.
Having said that, Crystal Palace have displayed a newfound ability to keep developments quiet in the media – for example, there was absolutely no mention of Mingueza arriving in SE25 until the deal was pretty much complete.
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So, we could be closer to replacing Lacroix than some might think.
