It’s been a while since we did one of these. In part four of this series, we discussed AS Monaco’s Benoit Badiashile. We also went over his strengths, weakness’ and how he’d potentially fit in to Chelsea’s team, should he decide to join the Blues. At the time of publication of part four, we were comparing him to Kurt Zouma and Virgil van Dijk because those were very easy decisions. Zouma was Chelsea’s standout centerback over two seasons at the time, he was the Blues’ most preferred centerback of the trio of himself, Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.
From this installment forward, the comparison will be made with just one Chelsea centerback. The Chelsea centerback will be the Premier League benchmark. The centerback that has been the most consistent for the past two seasons. It is important to note that since the arrival of Thomas Tuchel, whatever centerback configuration was used under Frank Lampard has pretty much gone up in flames. This has made the centerback for comparison a bit less straightforward.
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The point of this series was to scout centerbacks that could potentially replace Thiago Silva when he eventually does leave, as he clocks 37 years old this September. Many centerbacks have different styles of play, so this series is not only restricted to centerbacks of Silva’s playing style. Silva’s numbers were also not used in this comparison because he’s only spent one season in the Premier League, though he’s been very good.
Method of comparison
Two of the most consistent centerbacks at Chelsea since the beginning of last season are Antonio Rudiger and Kurt Zouma. Rudiger’s minutes and successes are more directly tied to Tuchel’s arrival and the change in formation and system though. Tuchel’s arrival puts Rudiger’s recent stellar defensive performances in context, but it doesn’t discredit it. To decide on a centerback to use for this comparison, a method was devised.
This method took as much of the centerbacks’ statistics from the last two seasons. These statistics were categorized into four: Defensive actions, duels, passing and other. These categories were also weighted. They were weighted to be as fair as possible and with the consideration that some actions or aspects of a centerback’s game are of more priority than others.
Some of the items under ‘other’ may fit into some other categories, as well, but they were grouped that way to be understood and calculated more easily. The weights are: defensive actions (40 percent), duels (28 percent), passing (20 percent) and other (12 percent). Defensive actions are just as important as duels, especially in a system that means you have a lot more of the ball and aren’t required to make as many defensive actions as some teams. Zouma won out with 52 percent compared to Rudiger’s 40 percent. This is because Zouma mainly won in defensive actions, though no one took the points for blocked shots, because they were tied.
In this part of the series, we’ll be discussing VFL Wolfsburg’s Maxence Lacroix. Lacroix spent last season in France’s second division with Ligue 2 club Sochaux. He then moved to Wolfsburg and became a starter instantly, at the age of 20. He made 30 appearances in the league for Wolfsburg, starting 29 games and keeping 12 clean sheets. Wolfsburg also conceded the second fewest goals in the league (37) and even overperformed their xGA (39.16). It’ll be mental gymnastics to try and separate Lacroix’s presence from Wolfsburg defensive achievements this season.
Lacroix has objectively been one of the best centerbacks—defenders, even—in the Bundesliga this season. He’s ranked top 10 for defenders in interceptions per 90, clearances per 90 and clean sheets amongst defenders in the Bundesliga. That is impressive for someone who was 20 years old when the season started. The Wolfsburg scouting team knew what it saw, and what it saw was excellent.
Lacroix is also a high volume long passer, so he matches the amount of long passes for a top centerback, but not necessarily the accuracy. Long passing is something that has to be honed over time though, so he’ll definitely get better at it the more times he does it. His reading of the game is at a very high level for a player of his age. His skillset will be very valuable for Chelsea, should he make the move.
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.
Defensive actions
Lacroix beats Zouma in interceptions per 90 at 1.9 compared to Zouma’s 1.7 since the beginning of last season. This highlights the excellent reading of the game of the youngster as 1.9 interceptions per 90 is quite high for a centerback over two seasons. He also has more tackles per 90 (1.6) than Zouma, as well. This can also be explained by the amount of defensive actions each centerback is required to make per game. Lacroix has made more clearances per 90 (4.4) than Zouma (4.2) over the last two seasons.
Zouma has blocked more shots per 90, though that’s not a lot. He’s blocked 0.2 shots per 90, compared to Lacroix’s 0.1. Note, this is also heavily dependent on the amount of shots a team faces. Lacroix has also been dribbled past a lot more than Zouma per 90, 0.6 to 0.2. This doesn’t tell us much, as Lacroix makes more tackles and more pressures. Making more tackles also indicates contesting more tackles, which means getting dribbled past more often.
According to WhoScored, Lacroix and Zouma rise to 190 cm each. However, Zouma is heavier at 92 kg, compared to Lacroix’s 88 kg. It is then near unacceptable that Lacroix wins way more ground duels per 90 (3.2) compared to Zouma (1.3). Now, it’s been mentioned before that Zouma plays as a sweeper, so he’s required to get involved in way fewer ground duels per 90. The concern is not in the figure, it’s in the success rate, as Lacroix has won 62 percent of his ground duels per 90 in the time under scrutiny. Zouma won 48 percent. Zouma has to improve in this area, he should be winning most of his duels.
Lacroix though, is strong in ground duels, and this would be very handy for him should he move to Chelsea or play for a high possession team. In high possession teams, you’ll likely make a lot less defensive actions, but may need to win a majority of your ground duels to keep teams out. SofaScore calls 60 percent success rate a strength, so Lacroix is impressive in this regard. It shows he knows how to use his strength to his advantage. So far, Lacroix has dominated the defensive actions—which is logical—but it’s still good he passed that test as he was expected to, as you don’t want to find yourself making less defensive actions than a player in a more possession-based team.
The criticism of Zouma for ground duels is the same criticism for Lacroix on aerial duels. Zouma has won four aerial duels per 90 at a 72 percent success rate on average since the beginning of last season. This is compared to Lacroix, who has won 2.6 aerial duels per 90 at a success rate of a measly 47 percent. Lacroix rises to 6-foot-3, there are centerbacks shorter than him that win a better proportion of their aerial duels. Lacroix needs to improve this aspect of his game, and he will as he progresses with age. Aerial duels are as much timing of the jump as they are aerial reach. Zouma has nearly perfected this art, beating a 193 cm van Dijk in the air, as well as a 199 cm Jannik Vestergaard. It’s certain though, that a centerback as tall as Lacroix, should be winning a higher percentage of his aerial duels.
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.
Conclusion
Lacroix’s defensive numbers show an excellent reading of the game. His success in ground duels shows an assertiveness that is present in commanding centerbacks. His long pass volume shows a brave defender who is not afraid to attempt passes he feels he can execute. He is very close to being the complete centerback. He just needs to work on his aerial duels and long passing technique. The number of clean sheets he’s kept shows a player that works well with other defenders. It also shows a player that communicates well.
He’s kept the most clean sheets in the Bundesliga this season, which for a 21-year-old, is an incredible feat. He’s young and while Chelsea does have a number of young centerbacks coming through, Lacroix is quite special and has a lot more experience at the highest level. Rumor is that Chelsea likes Lacroix. If Wolfsburg’s willingness to take him and make him a starter after two years at Ligue 2 club Sochaux wasn’t any indication of his incredible talent, his performance to help Wolfsburg finish top four—while making it the second best defensive side in the league—should be.
Transfermarkt values the Frenchman at €25 million, but his contract runs until 2024 and his fee may likely fall into the €30-40 million range. The market is tricky with the pandemic though, so it’s difficult to correctly estimate what a player of his talent would go for in this current climate.
What do you think of Lacroix? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!