Chelsea Set £75 Million Price for Malo Gusto Amid City Interest
Chelsea have drawn a thick line in the sand over Malo Gusto. £75 million, take it or leave it.
For a 23-year-old who cost roughly £31m from Lyon just last year, it is a statement as much as a valuation. Gusto’s place in West London is no longer guaranteed, and everyone around him can feel the shift.
A new right-back, a new reality
The mood changed the moment Chelsea agreed a deal in principle for Atalanta’s Marco Palestra, a specialist right-back arriving for a fee in excess of £43m. That move doesn’t just add depth. It redraws the hierarchy.
With Palestra on his way, Gusto’s camp have already opened the door to the market, holding exploratory talks with several major clubs to measure the appetite for a summer move. One of the first numbers dialled: Manchester City.
City, always alert to opportunities in a tight market, have been looking at ways to refresh their options on the right side of defence. A switch to the Etihad would reunite Gusto with Enzo Maresca, the coach who oversaw 18 months of his development at Chelsea before leaving in January. Familiar face, familiar ideas, very different stage.
City interest meets Chelsea’s hard line
City’s recruitment team like the profile: young, athletic, naturally suited to the role. But they do not like the number.
BBC reports suggest the £75m asking price is a major obstacle for the Premier League champions, who have already reshaped the position in an unconventional way. Matheus Nunes, converted from midfield, has thrived at right-back, chipping in with one goal and seven assists in the league last season. His form drew glowing praise from former manager Pep Guardiola, who openly described him as one of the most exciting emerging full-backs in England.
Nunes’ emergence gives City breathing space, but not comfort. They still want a long-term, specialist option, not just a repurposed midfielder. Gusto fits that brief. The fee does not.
So City watch, wait, and keep scanning the market. They have already stepped away from a move for Newcastle’s Tino Livramento, and any pursuit of Pedro Porro is off the table after his decision to commit to Tottenham.
Chelsea’s financial squeeze
Chelsea’s stance on Gusto is not just about footballing value. It is about balance sheets and hard choices.
A 10th-place finish and no European football have bitten into the club’s financial room for manoeuvre. Player sales are no longer strategic luxuries; they are necessities. The £52m deal that took Marc Cucurella to Real Madrid earlier this summer was the clearest sign yet of a club under pressure to trade.
The rebuild is far from over. The squad remains bloated, and the defensive department in particular feels overcrowded. As Palestra comes through the door, others are being nudged towards it.
- Trevoh Chalobah
- Tosin Adarabioyo
- Wesley Fofana
All find their futures under scrutiny as Chelsea look to trim numbers and redirect funds across the pitch. Each decision has a financial angle. Each outgoing could unlock another incoming.
Chalobah on Italian radar
Chalobah may be the next to move. The defender has attracted interest from Serie A side Como, now coached by former Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas. The project is intriguing, the manager familiar, and Chalobah is understood to be open to the idea.
The problem, once again, is cost. Como like the player but are wary of the financial package required, which has so far prevented any formal offer from landing on Chelsea’s desk.
So the stand-off continues.
Chelsea hold firm on Gusto at £75m. City admire the player but refuse to be drawn into a bidding war at that level. Chalobah waits for a concrete proposal that may or may not arrive. Palestra prepares to step into a dressing room still in flux.
For Chelsea’s defence, and for Gusto in particular, the next few weeks will decide everything: stay and fight for a place in a reshaped back line, or force a move while his stock remains high and the phone keeps ringing.
