didn't know a lot about him before but my Brother in Law is a match going Palace fan and was adamant he'd quickly become a fans favourite here.

Looks to be a real presence vocally as well and hopefully will fill one of the glaring weaknesses over the last couple of seasons.

Looks like a good pick from all the players that we were linked with at some point so from that point of view can only say .... "No Jacquet Required"

Dominant in the air, very strong 1v1 and can also find key passes too.

A few times he was battling as the last man near the halfway line and I immediately panicked, thinking Fulham were through on goal. Each time he calmly dispossessed the striker (who was having a good game) or pushed back the attack.

6 minutes ago, Shweaves said:

Dominant in the air, very strong 1v1 and can also find key passes too.

A few times he was battling as the last man near the halfway line and I immediately panicked, thinking Fulham were through on goal. Each time he calmly dispossessed the striker (who was having a good game) or pushed back the attack.

And has the added bonus if being able to play a winger who can make assists, I doubt that was on his CV 😅

His pace is going to be a massive help in the middle

He was fantastic defensively but I am a bit critical of his aerial prowess. Felt like the Garcia got the better of him in the air and even managing to hold him off on a few occasions. I'm sure someone who is into stats can look up the aerial duels won, it didn't feel like many.

Don't want to focus on it too much as he was pretty much perfect otherwise but may be a concern v more bigger and established strikers like Haaland.

3 minutes ago, Remodez said:

He was fantastic defensively but I am a bit critical of his aerial prowess. Felt like the Garcia got the better of him in the air and even managing to hold him off on a few occasions. I'm sure someone who is into stats can look up the aerial duels won, it didn't feel like many.

Don't want to focus on it too much as he was pretty much perfect otherwise but may be a concern v more bigger and established strikers like Haaland.

He only won 2/8, but one of which led to a goal.

I wouldn't look too much into it. Only four Premier League defenders managed more than his 119 aerial duels won last season.

7 minutes ago, Sconnie Blue said:

He only won 2/8, but one of which led to a goal.

I wouldn't look too much into it. Only four Premier League defenders managed more than his 119 aerial duels won last season.

Fair enough. That Garcia kid was pretty good to be fair so not an easy task.

Edited Tuesday at 13:223 days by Remodez

29 minutes ago, Remodez said:

Fair enough. That Garcia kid was pretty good to be fair so not an easy task.

Yeah, Garcia and King are going to cause a lot of clubs' issues.

There was one moment I didn't like, it was in the 2nd half and he looked like he struggled to deal with players that cut inside. I saw the same against England. Other than that, I thought it was a very steady debut from him. Tackles were well timed, he never once panicked and I never got the feeling that he was going to do something stupid.

The question with Lacroix is that what happen if he is being asked to defend big space but our setup vs Fulham was very similar to Palace so not sure this question is answered. I though he had a very good game.

Edited Tuesday at 23:533 days by Bob stark

I thought he looked big and slow getting back but early days yet so . . .

Played middle of the back three as per at CP. That pushed Colwill from his usual (and best) position to the left where he's much less comfortable. And it showed.

On 26/08/2026 at 10:08, dermott said:

Played middle of the back three as per at CP. That pushed Colwill from his usual (and best) position to the left where he's much less comfortable. And it showed.

Colwill is good enough to learn to play alongside him, we desperately needed his experience on the pitch so it made sense to let him play his game, especially in debut alongside 2 youngsters.

Became the leader of the defence from game one, directing everyone around . Love him

We really have been deprived of a classy CB for ages.

On 26/08/2026 at 09:51, Bob stark said:

The question with Lacroix is that what happen if he is being asked to defend big space but our setup vs Fulham was very similar to Palace so not sure this question is answered. I though he had a very good game.

I think he's excellent defending big spaces actually, I maintain he's one of the best 1v1 defenders in the league and at handling through balls into space. He is very hard to beat via balls over the top, dominates crosses. Complete opposite of Disasi or Tosin, he is a great 'sweeper'.

Where he needs to improve is the situation @Scott Harris pointed out above, where King cut inside and ran at him and Lacroix didn't react quick enough either to close him down or block the shot, hesitated, and King was able to exploit that. King may have missed but a better player scores from there.

Edited yesterday at 00:041 day by SydneyChelsea

46 minutes ago, SydneyChelsea said:

I think he's excellent defending big spaces actually, I maintain he's one of the best 1v1 defenders in the league and at handling through balls into space. He is very hard to beat via balls over the top, dominates crosses. Complete opposite of Disasi or Tosin, he is a great 'sweeper'.

Where he needs to improve is the situation @Scott Harris pointed out above, where King cut inside and ran at him and Lacroix didn't react quick enough either to close him down or block the shot, hesitated, and King was able to exploit that. King may have missed but a better player scores from there.

I will wait and see. Looks quite stiff. It does not matter as long as we play back 3

1 hour ago, Bob stark said:

I will wait and see. Looks quite stiff. It does not matter as long as we play back 3

Yeah he looks heavy when he moves .. but his timing and positioning looks good ..looks like still building up fitness…

Early clips, and a handful of World Cup games do show he’s a little slow on the turn. When defending infront of him, he’s looked superb. Big upgrade from all those that have departed, and might bring out better defending from Fofana.