Chelsea centerback scouting part five: Maxence Lacroix

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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) /

Passing

As mentioned earlier in this piece, Lacroix is a high volume long passer, he doesn’t complete a high percentage of them though. He will get better at passing, and in the next one or two seasons, he’ll be completing a much higher proportion of them. Zouma is much more selective of his long pass attempts and completes a high enough proportion of them.

Zouma obviously completes more passes per 90 (71) at a 90 percent passing accuracy. Lacroix completes 40.7 per 90 at an 81 percent passing accuracy. It’s important to keep in mind that passing is a skill that takes years to master. Interestingly, Lacroix completes slightly less long balls per 90 (4.6) compared to Zouma’s (4.7), but Lacroix does this at a 45 percent long ball accuracy, compared to Zouma’s 57 percent.

Being a centerback in Chelsea’s defensive setup requires you to make a lot of passes per game, and sometimes the occasional long ball to stretch the play to the flanks. All Chelsea centerbacks are quite competent in this area, with Thiago Silva being a standout. Lacroix would need some time to refine his long passing technique, but there’s no rush. At 21 years old, he still has about 13-15 more years of football to play at the highest level, depending on what his body allows, so there’s plenty time to refine his passing.

Lacroix makes 3.82 progressive passes per game, compared to Zouma’s 2.93. This indicates that Lacroix gets a lot more involved in starting attacks, registering more progressive passes, despite more than 25 less passes per 90. This indicates that Lacroix will likely register a lot more progressive passes if he played in a more possession-based side. He’s very much Rudiger-esque when it comes to long passes. Rudiger completes a lot of long passes, as well, but at a less than 50 percent success rate.

Lacroix makes 0.2 key passes per game, compared to Zouma’s 0.1. This statistic is not really important, but can be a defining factor when you need a defense splitting ball in behind to an attacker making runs in behind the opposition’s defense. Lacroix is clearly defensively aware, hardworking and brave in possession. These qualities bode well for a Chelsea centerhalf.

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