Chelsea sun sayi Maxence Lacroix, dan wasan kare na ƙasar France, daga Crystal Palace da fam miliyan 52, inda ya rattaba hannu kan kwangilar da za ta ƙare a 2032 a Stamford Bridge.

Lacroix, wanda yake yana da shekaru 26, ya zo bayan ya buga wasanni bakwai don France, ciki har da wasanni uku a gasar Kofin Duniya ta FIFA 2026 — ɗaya daga cikinsu shine wasan neman wuri na uku da England, inda Les Bleus suka ƙare a matsayi na huɗu.

Asalin Lacroix ya shiga Crystal Palace daga Wolfsburg na Bundesliga a shekarar 2024 da farkon fam miliyan 15.5. A ƙarƙashin kocin Oliver Glasner, ya tabbatar da matsayinsa a matsayin ɗan wasan farko, yana buga wasanni 55 a dukkan gasa, yayin da Palace ta lashe UEFA Conference League — babbar kyautar Turai ta farko a tarihin kulob ɗin.

Saye na uku na lokacin bazara

Bafaranshen ya zama saye na uku da Chelsea ta tabbatar a wannan taga canja wurin bazara, yana bin Morgan Rogers da Marco Palestra zuwa yammacin London. Kulob ɗin na shirye-shiryen kakar wasansa ta farko a ƙarƙashin sabon koci Xabi Alonso bayan ya ƙare a matsayi na 10 a Premier League kakar da ta gabata — sakamakon da ya ɓata wa magoya baya rai.

An amince da yarjejeniyoyi biyu, na mai reshe Geovany Quenda da mai kai hari Emmanuel Emegha, a shekarar 2025, kuma 'yan wasan biyu sun kammala canja wutensu a hukumance wannan wata. An kuma fahimci cewa Chelsea tana cikin tattaunawar ci gaba tare da mai kai hari na Brighton Danny Welbeck da dan tsakiya na Brentford Jordan Henderson.

Sauyi a tsarin zaɓe da saye

Zuwan Lacroix yana wakiltar canjin shugabanci a niyyar masu mallakar Chelsea. Abokin mai mallakar Behdad Eghbali ya taɓa faɗa yana son "gyara" tsarin kulob ɗin ta hanyar ƙara gogewa kusa da tsohuwar 'yan wasa matasa da suka haɗa da Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo, da Levi Colwill.

Da shekaru 26, Lacroix shine tsofaffin 'yan wasa da aka saya ƙarƙashin masu mallakar yanzu — wata alama ta bayyane ta yadda tunanin zaɓen kulob ɗin ya sauya. Chelsea kuma ta yi ƙoƙarin sanya hannu kan Granit Xhaka, mai shekaru 34, daga Sunderland — mataki da da ya zama wanda ba za a taba tunaninsa ba a ƙarƙashin tsarin zaɓensu na baya.

Duk da rahotannin da suka yi nuni da cewa an yi la'akari da John Stones na Manchester City da Jacobo Ramon na Como, Lacroix — mai tsayin ƙafa 6 da inci 4, yana ba da ƙarfi ta jiki da shugabanci — ya kasance manufar farko ta Chelsea koyaushe. Tattaunawar da ta ɗauki tsawon lokaci kan sharuɗɗan mutum da kuɗin canja wuri tare da Crystal Palace ta ƙara rashin tabbas, amma Lacroix ya ba da yardarsa bayan fita ta France daga FIFA World Cup 2026.

Tare da Rogers, wanda kwanan nan ya cika shekaru 24 kuma ya kai £117m, saye na Lacroix ya cika alkawarin Chelsea na kawo 'yan wasa masu gogewa biyu aƙalla, masu shirye-shirye don buga, a wannan taga canja wuri.