Liverpool Targets Malo Gusto as Right-Back Solution
Liverpool’s summer has rumbled along quietly. Now it’s threatening to explode.
With just over two weeks left in the window, the club are accelerating plans to fix one of Andoni Iraola’s biggest headaches: right-back. And the name at the top of the list is a headline-maker – Chelsea’s Malo Gusto.
From slow burn to big swing
Up to now, Liverpool’s business has been measured rather than manic. Victor Munoz arrived from Osasuna for £34.5 million, then Ronald Araujo came through the door on Monday on a season-long loan from Barcelona. Two smart, targeted moves. Not a revolution.
But inside Anfield, there’s no sense that the job is done. Iraola wants more bodies, more competition, more edge. He wants to land running, not spend the autumn talking about “transition”.
Bradley Barcola remains the marquee attacking target, yet Paris Saint-Germain’s £145m valuation has put that deal in stalemate. A winger to push Rio Ngumoha and Cody Gakpo is still viewed as essential.
Right behind that on the priority list? A right-back who can lock down a starting spot – and raise the standard.
Life after Trent: a hole Liverpool can’t ignore
Since Trent Alexander-Arnold walked away to Real Madrid on a free last summer, Liverpool have never truly settled on a solution on the right side of defence.
Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley both spent spells in the treatment room last season, forcing Dominik Szoboszlai to plug gaps at full-back. It worked at times, but it was a workaround, not a plan.
Frimpong is nominally first choice now. His strengths, though, lean heavily towards a wing-back role, flying high and wide rather than sitting in a traditional back four. That tactical nuance is driving Liverpool’s interest in a more rounded option – and has led them to Gusto.
Gusto on the move?
Chelsea insider Simon Phillips reports that Liverpool admire the 23-year-old, and they’re far from alone. Tottenham, Bayern Munich and Manchester City are also tracking the Frenchman.
The sticking point is obvious: money. Chelsea have been holding out for around £75m, a figure that already forced City to walk away from talks. They simply refused to go that high.
There is a twist, though. According to Phillips, Gusto has been pushing to leave Stamford Bridge for the past four months. That pressure from the player’s side could yet drag the fee down to something more realistic for his suitors.
If that happens, Liverpool will be ready.
Squeezed at Stamford Bridge
On the pitch, Gusto’s situation at Chelsea has shifted quickly.
He featured 34 times in the Premier League last season, a key part of their rotation on the right. But the £47m signing of Marco Palestra from Atalanta has changed the landscape. The Italian is expected to compete with Reece James at right wing-back or even in midfield under Xabi Alonso.
Two big-money rivals, one position. Gusto’s minutes suddenly look far less secure.
Chelsea paid £35m to prise him from Lyon as a 19-year-old in January 2023. Since then, he has grown into one of the most highly rated young defenders in the league, capable of operating as a right-back or wing-back in a variety of systems.
He already has 16 caps for France and has racked up 134 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions, contributing three goals and 17 assists. Those are serious numbers for a player still early in his career.
Perfect fit for Iraola’s intensity?
Gusto’s profile reads like a wish list for Iraola’s style. Fast. Relentless. Aggressive in the press. A full-back who doesn’t just overlap, but drives games from deep with his energy and attacking threat.
At Anfield, he would not walk into a free ride. Frimpong remains a powerful option on the right, especially in more attacking setups. But that is exactly the point: Liverpool want two high-level players scrapping for that spot, not a single solution and a makeshift back-up.
Right now, the only thing holding Liverpool back is the price tag. £75m is a line they have no intention of crossing. If Chelsea stand firm, this stays as interest, not action.
If they blink? Then a 23-year-old Frenchman could become the next major piece in Iraola’s Anfield rebuild – and turn a problem position into one of Liverpool’s biggest weapons.
