Maxence Lacroix is the talk of SE25 right now after a stunning performance for Crystal Palace against Tottenham on Sunday.
The £15.2m summer arrival from VfL Wolfsburg received the Man of the Match award for his excellent display, which involved three clearances, five successful duels, 21 passes and 32 touches.
Our 1-0 win over Spurs moved us into 17th in the Premier League.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 17 |  Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 6 |
Lacroix was seen celebrating passionately with fans after the victory – pumping his fists wildly as the relief was there for all to see.
Now – on Instagram – Maxence Lacroix has received a message from a player Dougie Freedman tried to bring to Crystal Palace during the summer transfer window in Aster Vranckx.
Aster Vranckx sends message to Maxence Lacroix
Back in July, it was said that Crystal Palace were pushing hard to sign Vranckx from VfL Wolfsburg.
Freedman was believed to have held talks over a deal for the Belgium international – who was only valued at £8m due to the fact his contract was set to expire at the end of the season – although an agreement was never found, and a new deal until 2029 was eventually signed.
Now – however – Vranckx has reignited rumours of a potential move to SE25 by messaging his close friend Lacroix on Instagram, writing “le chouchouu” which roughly translates to “darling” or “favourite”.
The pair made 44 appearances together at VfL Wolfsburg – the main reason behind their interaction on Instagram, in our view – although it is interesting to see that the Belgian is clearly keeping an eye on developments at Crystal Palace after the summer transfer saga.
Most intriguingly, Vranckx left his comment on a post uploaded by Crystal Palace rather than Lacroix himself, so the VfL Wolfsburg No.6 would appear to have eyes on the Eagles.
Dougie Freedman could sign Vranckx to replace Will Hughes at Crystal Palace
Like we did with Odsonne Edouard before loaning him to Leicester City, Vranckx may have only signed a new contract to preserve his value at VfL Wolfsburg, so an exit in 2025 could still happen.
Interestingly, Freedman is monitoring the 22-year-old at a time where Will Hughes only has around eight months left on his contract, which expires in July.
Given the fact both players operate in central midfield, we could therefore witness a like-for-like switch in that department, especially with a pull factor such as Lacroix, who could help to convince Vranckx.
