Gallas tells Chelsea they ‘have to get’ Arsenal centre-back target after Lacroix transfer | OneFootball

William Gallas has told Chelsea they “have to go get” a centre-back who Arsenal are targeting as the fellow defenders are “going to progress,” such as new signing Maxence Lacroix.

The Blues’ signing of Crystal Palace defender Lacroix has reportedly been agreed today. The likes of Fabrizio Romano and David Ornstein have reported on the £52million deal.

But centre-back moves might not be done there for Chelsea.

Indeed, their former defender Gallas has backed the club to sign former Manchester City man John Stones after they recently joined the hunt for the centre-back.

Gallas told iPredicta: “Some people are surprised [with Chelsea’s links to John Stones]. I don’t understand how they can be surprised.

“Chelsea have got to speak with John Stones. Of course they have to go to get him. They won’t have to pay a lot of money because he’s a free agent.

“He’s got everything. He has got experience. He has already won the Premier League. He won the Champions League.

“So it’s the best option right now; otherwise, you have to put a lot of money on one defender, and you are not really sure he will adapt to the Premier League. I think it would be great for both parties.”

Another of Gallas’ fellow sides, Premier League champions Arsenal, are also in the mix for Stones and are believed to be marginally in the lead due to the defender’s relationship with Mikel Arteta.

Chelsea need Stones’ experience

But Gallas feels Chelsea need Stones for the experience he’ll bring to the backline.

He added: “The players who are going to play around him are going to grow up, are going to progress.

“I always spoke about this and I always repeat myself: for central defenders, you always need one experienced player because at the same time that player is teaching the boys who are next to him, for the young boys to grow up, to improve, to be a better defender, to take all the pressure off their shoulders.

“It’s better that the pressure is on the shoulders of that experienced player than the youth.

“Look at Chelsea’s defenders, like Levi Colwill, Trevoh Chalobah and Wesley Fofana. They haven’t looked like the answer for the long-term. Okay, Colwill was injured, and he was improving when he was with Thiago Silva, you know?

“And then Silva left, and then another boy was the main guy, but they made some mistakes because they were not ready yet. They started to play very young, and they put pressure on them too soon.”

With Lacroix being new to the club, it could perhaps be ideal to pair him with a very experienced player such as six-time Premier League winner Stones.

While he, too, would be new to the club, hi ample experience in the Premier League should serve him well wherever he’s to go.