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Chelsea centerback scouting part five: Maxence Lacroix

By Olaoluwa Nwobodo

COLOGNE, GERMANY - DECEMBER 05: Maxence Lacroix of VfL Wolfsburg is challenged by Salih Ozcan of 1. FC Koeln during the Bundesliga match between 1. FC Koeln and VfL Wolfsburg at RheinEnergieStadion on December 05, 2020 in Cologne, Germany. Football Stadiums around Germany remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)
COLOGNE, GERMANY - DECEMBER 05: Maxence Lacroix of VfL Wolfsburg is challenged by Salih Ozcan of 1. FC Koeln during the Bundesliga match between 1. FC Koeln and VfL Wolfsburg at RheinEnergieStadion on December 05, 2020 in Cologne, Germany. Football Stadiums around Germany remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images) /
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LEIPZIG, GERMANY – MARCH 03: Yussuf Poulsen of RB Leipzig scores his team’s first goal during the DFB Cup quarter final match between RB Leipzig and VfL Wolfsburg at Red Bull Arena on March 03, 2021 in Leipzig, Germany. (Photo by Boris Streubel/Getty Images)
LEIPZIG, GERMANY – MARCH 03: Yussuf Poulsen of RB Leipzig scores his team’s first goal during the DFB Cup quarter final match between RB Leipzig and VfL Wolfsburg at Red Bull Arena on March 03, 2021 in Leipzig, Germany. (Photo by Boris Streubel/Getty Images) /

Playing style

Some data will be available for only Lacroix’s Wolfsburg season. Data like pressures, successful pressures, progressive passes and progressive carries. As the comparison would be made with Chelsea’s Kurt Zouma, these same metrics will also be taken for only Zouma’s current season. Wolfsburg has been pressing as much as the highest pressing teams this season. It led the Bundesliga in pressures and successful pressures, ranking fifth in percentage of successful pressures at 33.3 percent.

The Blues rank 11th for pressures in the league, fourth for successful pressures and sixth for percentage of successful pressures at exactly 31 percent. Chelsea though, boasts a lot more possession on average 58.6 percent, compared to Wolfsburg’s 51 percent, this season. This is an indication that Lacroix would be expected to have more defensive actions to make per game, so it should be no surprise if he wins in many of these categories.

Lacroix plays in a back four, so he would be perfect for the Blues should Tuchel decide to play a two-centerback formation. He is right-footed, as well.

Lacroix ranks seventh for percentage of successful pressures (36.1 percent) for Wolfsburg. He averaged 11.6 pressures per 90 this season, winning 4.20 per 90. This is in stark contrast to Zouma, who averaged 6.81 pressures per 90, winning 2.12 in the same amount of time (31.1 percent). This can probably be explained by the amount of minutes each team, and subsequently each player, has the ball per match. Zouma also played as the sweeper in a back-two, and then in a back-three, so his need to personally pressure opponents would be drastically reduced. These factors explain why Zouma is registering as few pressures per 90 as he is.

Lacroix getting involved in as many pressures is only a good thing though, as he would fit in any role in Chelsea’s centerback set-up. The side centerbacks in a three-centerback formation would probably be required to press more and he seems already well suited for that. Lacroix wins out in pressures, but Zouma wins out in carries, as Zouma makes 4.31 progressive carries per 90 compared to Lacroix’s 2.78. This again can be attributed to the fact that one centerback controls a lot more of the ball per 90.

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