-
Chelsea open talks with Lyon over right-back Malo Gusto.
According to reports, Chelsea have held talks with Lyon over the signing of right-back Malo Gusto.
With the additions of Joao Felix, Mykhailo Mudryk, and Noni Madueke this month, the Blues have been busy reinforcing their offence. However, right-back is another area of focus for Chelsea as they continue to struggle without Reece James.
Sources have already revealed that conversations have been had with Lyon about Gusto, a 19-year-old right-back, and the club executives are aggressively trying to recruit a new right-back.
Chelsea’s interest in Gusto was initially made known in October when scouts from Stamford Bridge, as well as those from Arsenal, Barcelona, Manchester City, and Manchester United, observed the young defender.
Now, the Blues have made their move to try and recruit Gusto, whose current Lyon contract has just 18 months left to run.
RELATED:
- Graham Potter reveals what Noni Madueke will bring to Chelsea
- Cesar Azpilicueta comments on Mykhailo Mudryk’s debut for Chelsea.
- Chelsea set to renew Enzo Fernandez transfer pursuit
Gusto fits into Chelsea’s current transfer model – attempting to recruit a team of young stars – and is seen as viable competition to James, who remains the club’s clear first-choice for the position when fit.
Lyon are well aware of their battle to keep Gusto, both in terms of a transfer and concerning his expiring contract, but they are determined to hold on to the teenager for at least the remainder of the current season.
The French team is unwilling to part ways with a starting defender halfway through the season because they missed out on playing in Europe last season and are further behind this time around. They have dropped to ninth in the Ligue 1 standings and are currently 12 points outside of the qualification spots.
Chelsea might pursue a contract that allowed Gusto to stay with Lyon for the following six months, but the Blues are presently prioritizing a permanent transfer to strengthen a position that has consistently been difficult to fill when James is injured.
33-year-old Cesar Azpilicueta, who made his 500th appearance for Chelsea in Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Liverpool, has struggled to match James’ output and Graham Potter has often resorted to using centre-back Trevoh Chalobah out on the right instead.
Chelsea has a number of targets in mind to fix their right-back weaknesses, including Gusto, Denzel Dumfries from Inter, and Pedro Porro from Sporting CP.