Liverpool Targets Malo Gusto as Right-Back Solution
Liverpool’s summer has been slow to ignite. With just over a fortnight left of the window, that is changing fast – and the next move on the board could be a raid on Chelsea for Malo Gusto.
Andoni Iraola has already welcomed Victor Munoz from Osasuna for £34.5 million and secured Ronald Araujo on loan from Barcelona, yet nobody at Anfield is pretending the squad is finished. The new manager wants more bodies, more competition, more pace. He wants it quickly.
Attack remains the headline act. Bradley Barcola is the marquee name on Liverpool’s list, but Paris Saint‑Germain’s £145m valuation currently sits in a different universe to what the club are prepared to pay. A winger to push Rio Ngumoha and Cody Gakpo is viewed as essential business.
But down the right flank, a different problem has been nagging away since Trent Alexander-Arnold walked out for Real Madrid on a free last summer.
Right-back conundrum
Liverpool have been patching that side together. Dominik Szoboszlai spent spells covering at right-back last season. Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley both endured injury-hit campaigns. The position never truly settled.
Frimpong is now regarded as first choice, yet his strengths lean towards the wing-back role rather than as a traditional full-back in a back four. That tactical nuance is driving Liverpool’s interest in a more orthodox option – and Malo Gusto has emerged as a serious candidate.
Chelsea insider Simon Phillips reports that Liverpool, Tottenham, Bayern Munich and Manchester City all admire the 23-year-old. The talent is not in doubt. The price is.
Chelsea have been quoting a £75m fee for Gusto, a figure that recently sent City away from the table. They simply refused to go that high.
That stance might not be immovable. Phillips also claims Gusto has been pushing to leave Stamford Bridge for the past four months, a factor that could yet drag Chelsea’s demands down to something more realistic.
Squeezed at Stamford Bridge
On paper, Gusto enjoyed a strong Premier League season, racking up 34 appearances last term. On the ground, the landscape has shifted.
Chelsea have spent £47m to bring in Marco Palestra from Atalanta, and the Italian is expected to contest roles at right wing-back or even in midfield under Xabi Alonso. Reece James remains the club captain and a central figure when fit.
That squeeze leaves Gusto facing the prospect of limited starts just as he enters what should be the defining years of his career.
Signed from Lyon for £35m as a 19-year-old in January 2023, he has grown into one of the most highly regarded young defenders in the division. A 16-cap France international, he offers versatility across right-back and wing-back roles and has already amassed 134 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions, with three goals and 17 assists.
Those numbers underline why so many top clubs are circling. He runs. He tackles. He drives teams up the pitch. His speed, tenacity and attacking thrust fit the profile of the modern, all-action full-back.
Liverpool’s dilemma
From Liverpool’s perspective, Gusto ticks almost every box. He would give Iraola the option of a more balanced back four, while still providing the attacking punch to mirror Frimpong on the overlap. He would also raise the internal temperature of the squad, pushing the current right-sided options to another level.
One obstacle stands in the way: the fee.
At £75m, Liverpool are unlikely to move. At a lower figure, the conversation changes. If Chelsea soften, the prospect of Gusto trading Stamford Bridge for Anfield becomes very real.
Iraola wants to “hit the ground running” in his first season on Merseyside. Whether Liverpool back that ambition by turning admiration into a formal bid for Gusto could define not just their right flank, but the shape of this new era.
