Manchester City are still interested in Malo Gusto, and the Chelsea right-back is now ready to leave Stamford Bridge in January after falling down the pecking order under Xabi Alonso.
According to TEAMtalk, the 23-year-old wants regular football again and Chelsea are open to letting him go, with the club prepared to listen to offers. City first looked at him in the summer, when Enzo Maresca was keen on a reunion with the full-back he coached in west London.
The catch is that City are not alone, and they may not even be able to act. Six other clubs are watching, and nobody yet knows whether the Etihad will be allowed to do business this winter.
Why is Malo Gusto available?
Gusto has gone from first choice to fringe player in a matter of months. Last season he made 49 appearances, 36 of them starts, and established himself at right-back. This season he has started only three of Chelsea’s ten Premier League matches, and four substitute outings take his league total to just 308 minutes.
Alonso’s summer business did the damage. Chelsea signed Italian right-back Marco Palestra, academy graduate Josh Acheampong has impressed while Reece James was injured, and James himself is now out until the new year. Even with the England international sidelined, Gusto has decided it is time to move on.
He has not lost his standing with France, though. He was called up by Zinedine Zidane for this international break, and he has made 144 appearances for Chelsea since joining from Lyon in 2023 for around £30m.
What Gusto would fix at Man City
City chose not to sign a right-back in the summer. The thinking was that Abdukodir Khusanov could cover for Matheus Nunes, but the Uzbek has often looked far more at home in the middle than he does bombing forward from the right. He also picked up a knock at Nottingham Forest and has pulled out of Uzbekistan’s squad for the break.
Gusto is a specialist. He knows Maresca’s demands from their time together at Chelsea, and a natural right-back would let Khusanov play where he is most comfortable, alongside Ruben Dias or Marc Guehi. It would also give City cover for Nunes without dragging a centre-back out of position every time he is unavailable.
He would hardly be the only right-back City have looked at either. They are still keeping tabs on Newcastle’s Tino Livramento, which tells you where the gap in this squad is.
Who else wants him?
Liverpool asked about Gusto in the summer and are open to signing a specialist right-back in 2027. Tottenham Hotspur explored his availability too. Abroad, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Como and RB Leipzig have all shown an interest, which makes seven possible destinations in total.
The price may now work in a buyer’s favour. Chelsea set a steep valuation in the summer, but with Gusto on the bench and keen to go, their asking price will need to be a lot lower this time, unless a loan suits everyone better.
Can Man City sign Malo Gusto in January?
That is the big unknown. City remain interested, but it is not clear whether they will be able to bring in new players in the January window with punishment looming in the Premier League’s financial case, and the wait for a verdict goes on.
If the window stays open to them, this is a deal that makes sense. Gusto is 23, he has more than 140 games for a top club behind him, and the manager already rates him. If it does not, Liverpool and Spurs will be happy to take advantage, and Maresca will have to keep patching up his right side with what he has.
