Laurent Blanc promises Chelsea that Malo Gusto will join them fully fit. (Photo by Leandro Amorim/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)
According to the tweet from Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas (h/t Metro), Chelsea have been dealt with a transfer blow as Aulas has confirmed that Malo Gusto won’t be sold this month.
Chelsea are in the market to sign a new right-back this month to provide competition and respite to the work-load of Reece James. Gusto was one of their top targets in the last few days.
Although the initial bid of £25m was rejected by Lyon, the Blues were confident of trying again and making this deal happen before the end of this transfer window.
But, now it seems like the French side will keep hold of the player till the summer at the least. This update should come as a blow to Chelsea’s chances of bolstering their squad in a key area.
Gusto is a young fullback who is excellent going forward and creating chances while being prudent defensively and having the pace to make recovery runs from higher positions.
Whenever James has missed games for Chelsea in the past year, which has been a lot, the team has lacked an athletic player who can make runs up and down the field on the right-hand side and impact the game.
If the club could have completed the Gusto deal, they would have had a player who matches the Englishman in terms of profile and can be a long-term competition for him in that right-back/right-wing-back department.
It remains to be seen whether Chelsea would give up on their pursuit of the 19-year-old, or give it another go despite the rejection from the Lyon president. Logic would say that they should go again until the last second of this transfer window. If not, getting him in summer won’t be the end of the world.
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