Chelsea Sets £75m Price for Malo Gusto as Manchester City Express Interest
Chelsea have drawn a thick line under Malo Gusto’s future. Cross it, and it will cost £75 million.
The French right-back, signed from Lyon for around £31m in 2023, is weighing up his options as the landscape shifts sharply at Stamford Bridge. A year ago he was one of the flagbearers for Chelsea’s youth-driven rebuild. Now, he finds his place under direct threat.
Palestra deal changes the picture
The mood around Gusto changed the moment Chelsea agreed a deal in principle for Atalanta’s Marco Palestra, a specialist right-back, in a move worth more than £43m. That signing is not just cover. It is a statement.
With a new contender arriving for his position, Gusto’s camp have not waited to see how it plays out. His representatives have already opened exploratory talks with several major clubs, testing the market ahead of a possible summer move.
One of the first numbers dialled: Manchester City.
City interest – but at their price
City have been contacted as they look to deepen their options on the right side of defence. A switch to the Etihad would reunite Gusto with Enzo Maresca, his former Chelsea head coach, now charged with refreshing a title-winning squad in Manchester.
The appeal is obvious. Gusto is 23, attack-minded, and a natural right-back – the kind of profile City have long liked to mould.
But there is a problem. The price.
BBC reports suggest City view Chelsea’s £75m valuation as excessive, and it is easy to see why. Matheus Nunes, converted from midfield, has flourished in the role. One goal and seven Premier League assists last season underlined his impact, and Pep Guardiola previously hailed him as one of the standout emerging right-backs in the division.
Nunes has set a high bar. City still want a younger, specialist option in that channel, yet they are not prepared to be dragged into a bidding war on Chelsea’s terms. For now, they have stepped back from that £75m figure, while continuing to scan the market.
They have already cooled on Newcastle’s Tino Livramento, and any move for Pedro Porro is off the table after his decision to commit his future to Tottenham. The shortlist is shrinking. Gusto remains on it – but only if the numbers change.
Chelsea’s financial squeeze and defensive reset
Chelsea’s stance on Gusto is not just about football. It is about finance.
A 10th-place finish, no European football, and a sprawling, expensive squad have forced the club into a summer of hard decisions. Player sales are no longer a strategic option; they are a necessity.
Marc Cucurella has already gone, joining Real Madrid in a £52m deal earlier in the window. That will help the balance sheet, but it will not fix it on its own.
So the club have set aggressive valuations on assets they can afford to lose, and Gusto is squarely in that category. If he goes, it must be for a fee that delivers a major profit and underpins the next phase of recruitment.
This reset cuts deep into the back line. The futures of Trevoh Chalobah, Tosin Adarabioyo and Wesley Fofana all hang in the air as Chelsea try to trim what has become a bloated defensive unit. No one in that group can feel entirely secure.
Chalobah weighs Italian interest
While Gusto’s situation dominates the headlines, Chalobah’s story is quietly building in the background.
The defender is drawing interest from Serie A side Como, now managed by former Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas. The project is ambitious, the pitch is attractive, and Chalobah is understood to be open to the move.
But, again, cost looms large. The potential outlay required to take him from Stamford Bridge is giving the Italians pause, and has so far stopped them from making a formal offer.
Chelsea, though, are clearly open for business. A high price on Gusto, a willingness to listen on Chalobah, and a new right-back already lined up all point in the same direction.
The question now is simple: who blinks first – the clubs circling, or a Chelsea hierarchy determined to cash in on their assets at a premium?
