There’s rarely a transfer window that goes by these days without Chelsea being heavily involved one way or another.
To that end, why should the current one be any different?!
Marc Cucurella has already departed for Real Madrid, and there are strong rumours that vice-captain Enzo Fernandez could follow him to the Spanish capital in due course.
Marco Palestra is on the verge of completing a move to Stamford Bridge, whilst it’s believed that Xabi Alonso is also targeting Crystal Palace’s Maxence Lacroix.
It’s the former’s hire that could seemingly be paving the way for yet another outgoing transfer, as it would appear that in order to accommodate the 21-year-old from Atalanta, Chelsea will need to move Malo Gusto on.
Despite having a contract for another four years and a reported market value of around £35m, the Blues hierarchy is attempting to procure nearer to £75m for his services, according to recent rumours.
Reunion with Maresca?
Though that still isn’t preposterous by today’s standards, it does bring Gusto’s fee into the orbit of only the world’s richest clubs.
Fortunately, for Clearlake Capital, it would appear that there is some interest in the Frenchman from fellow Premier League club Man City soon to be managed by former Chelsea chief, Enzo Maresca, of course.
The Italian knows all about what the right-back can bring to his team, and if reports are accurate, Gusto may well be the first of Maresca’s signings at his new club.
Whether that means either Matheus Nunes or Rico Lewis, the two players who currently occupy the right-back slot at City, could be on their way, is purely a matter of conjecture at this point.
For a start, his 49 games for Chelsea in all competitions last season – the fourth most appearances of any Blues player – evidence his reliability and availability.
Every City full-back needs to have the ability to attack as often as possible, and with three goals and five assists to his name in 2025/26, Gusto had the eighth-best return of the Chelsea squad.
Only Fernandez, Cucurella and Pedro Neto created more than the Frenchman’s 40 chances during the campaign, meaning if he should move on and Fernandez does too, Chelsea will be without three of their four biggest creators of chances from last season heading into 2026/27. Hardly the ideal scenario for Xabi Alonso at the beginning of his tenure, should that precise situation occur.
1,835 passes attempted with an 87.08% success rate has Gusto easily inside Chelsea’s top 10 passers of 25/26, too, and Maresca will obviously know all about that side of his game already.
Neto was the only player to attempt more than the right-back’s 97 crosses, though Gusto’s 22.68% crossing success was superior to his teammate’s 18.92% showing.
The Frenchman can also be relied upon to put himself about a bit, which is a side of the game that’s necessary in this day and age.
Physical edge
289 one-on-one duels attempted were the seventh-most in the Chelsea squad during the previous campaign, whilst Gusto was no shirker when it came to aerial bombardment either.
He would also attempt 46 aerial duels as well as 81 tackles, which was only bettered by Cucurella and Moises Caicedo.
51 clearances and 55 interceptions made sit nicely alongside the other stats, and give him a decent reading for his all-round abilities, which does beg the question as to why Chelsea are considering offers for him in the first place.
Having not qualified for Europe next season, the one thing that they need now is stability and continuity, and so to keep allowing players to come and go from Stamford Bridge seems entirely unproductive.
Moreover, strengthening a direct rival by selling them a player that still has a number of years growing to do before he reaches what would be considered his peak years only hammers home the point.
Not that raiding his old club and making life even more difficult for Alonso will bother Maresca, who will be under incredible pressure to follow up the successes of Pep Guardiola.
