Chelsea are not opposed to Malo Gusto leaving the club this summer, however sources close to Manchester City are playing down their interest in the defender.
Gusto played a key role last season as a reliable player in terms of fitness, with club captain Reece James unable to fully shake off his injury woes.
However, the Blues have been busy in the transfer market in the full-back position already, reaching an agreement with Atalanta to sign Marco Palestra.
Who will be a bigger success – Enzo Maresca or Xabi Alonso? 🤔
City have confirmed Maresca will replace Guardiola.
Man City playing down interest in Chelsea’s Malo Gusto
Given the fact that Xabi Alonso played such a key role in bringing the Italian to Stamford Bridge, doubt has cropped up over how secure the Frenchman’s place at the club is.
Man City have been strongly linked with the signing, however David Ornstein has stated on The Athletic FC Podcast that they are now playing down claims linking them to potentially making a move to sign him.
He said: “I think they were initially linked with Palestra who who ended up going to Chelsea.
“Talking of Chelsea, they’ve been quite heavily linked to Malo Gusto. If he’s to depart with the arrival of Palestra to Chelsea.
“City are sort of playing that down somewhat. I think there is admiration, but I I don’t know if a deal will materialise and Chelsea would definitely demand a very high fee for such a a high level player.”
It has been reported that Chelsea are demanding up to £75m for Gusto, which would be a healthy profit on the price they paid to sign him from Lyon.
DISCUSS: Granit Xhaka is Chelsea’s perfect summer signing 🔟
Enzo Maresca was a big fan of Gusto at Chelsea
New City manager Enzo Maresca was no doubt a factor in the Premier League side’s interest after he relied heavily on the France international at Stamford Bridge.
After a win against Wolves last season, Maresca described Gusto as one of Chelsea’s most important players to the Chelsea website.
He said: “Last year, it [scoring goals] happened many times with Cucu (Marc Cucurella). Tonight, Malo scored to help the team because that goal opened up the game a little bit. Malo is one of our main players because he allows us to be versatile. So we are very happy for Malo.”
Alonso’s plans for the full-back remain to be seen, although he faces the disadvantage of not joining up for pre-season until late due to France’s excellence at the World Cup.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
