Chelsea recently set the asking price for Malo Gusto at £75m, which, if true, is absolutely shameless. Nobody in their right mind would pay that for a player like Gusto.
The report comes from Fabrizio Romano, who posted an update to X (formerly Twitter) earlier today. Romano claimed that Chelsea are not actively trying to sell Malo Gusto, and they value him at a fee of £75m.
Chelsea's passive decision to keep hold of Malo Gusto is despite them signing Marco Palestra. It remains to be known how Gusto feels about staying, but that probably won't be public knowledge anyway.
Chelsea essentially put Malo Gusto in a corner
Malo Gusto is currently at the World Cup with France, so perhaps Chelsea is banking on him winning the World Cup to up his value. Even then, though, it is unlikely that a month of great work at the World Cup would increase his value to £75m.
Chelsea did not sign Marco Palestra for no reason, either. They obviously signed him to play, or at least to compete with Malo Gusto. Therefore, it does seem rather bizarre that the Blues are blocking out a sale for him. Even if they're open to offers, which remains to be seen, valuing him at £75m is a surefire way to ensure that Chelsea end up disappointed.
Chelsea will either receive no bids or lowball offers. Well, the offers they receive will be fair, but they won't be near their value.
Perhaps Chelsea sees something in Malo Gusto that the whole world doesn't. He's certainly a great player, but he's not £75m great.
For context, if Chelsea were to sell Malo Gusto for £75m, not only would it be daylight robbery but it would also represent their second biggest sale ever.
- Eden Hazard - £89m
- Malo Gusto - £75m (Chelsea’s valuation)
- Kai Havertz - £65m
- Oscar - £60m
- Alvaro Morata - £58.3m
Marco Palestra and Malo Gusto are likely to be in competition
Marco Palestra is capable of playing in multiple positions. He can play on both sides of the defence and even in the midfield. Therefore, it remains to be seen where he is used under Xabi Alonso.
However, one thing we do know about Xabi Alonso is that his system relies heavily on full-backs, particularly those who can overlap. Palestra is more than capable on the flank, so his strongest position at Chelsea is at right-back, the position currently occupied by Malo Gusto.
At the moment, Man City seems like the likeliest landing spot for Malo Gusto. Of course, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for Gusto to reunite with Maresca, but Chelsea always run the risk of regretting sales. It's not like they have a great track record with letting the right players go in the past.
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