Malo Gusto to Man City – will it happen? Football Whispers Index scores £75m transfer rumour

Malo Gusto has fallen out of Chelsea's starting XI since Xabi Alonso's arrival.

Manchester City and Manchester United are both said to be watching his situation ahead of the January window.

Enzo Maresca, who worked with Gusto at Chelsea, now manages City, which adds a personal thread to the interest.

Malo Gusto to Manchester City rated ‘Likely'

The Football Whispers Index scores every transfer rumour across five weighted factors. Read how it works here.

The Football Whispers Index weighs five things: whether City can afford the fee, whether they actually need Gusto, whether he wants out, whether Chelsea want him gone, and how solid the reporting behind the story actually is.

Here, the clearest point in favour is the human one, Maresca's history with the player, and the clearest point against is that City already have three bodies covering right-back without him.

The single most decisive fact is that neither Manchester club has made a formal approach, which means this is still a story about interest rather than a deal in motion.

Financial viability

Chelsea's reported £75m valuation is the single biggest hurdle to this deal, more than double the roughly £26m they paid Lyon for Gusto back in 2023.

That gap matters because City already carry one of the division's heaviest wage bills, built around deals like Haaland's £525,000-a-week contract, and a fee of that size for a squad player is a harder sell internally than it would be for a guaranteed starter.

Gusto's own contract, which runs to 2030, cuts the other way for City's negotiating position, since Chelsea have no financial reason to discount him just to move him on.

That is exactly why the price has not softened since the summer, when City first looked at this deal.

Buying club need

City's need at right-back is real but not obvious, since they already carry three senior options in that area of the pitch.

Matheus Nunes, Rico Lewis and Abdukodir Khusanov can all play there, so Gusto would be joining a queue rather than filling an empty slot.

What tips the balance is history rather than necessity, since Maresca worked with Gusto at Chelsea and clearly rates him, which is why City were already exploring a deal back in the summer.

A reunion with a manager who already knows how to use a player is a different kind of fit to a straightforward positional gap, and it is the stronger part of City's case here.

Player motivation

Nothing about Gusto's situation at Chelsea suggests he is content to sit and wait.

He has not started a Premier League match since 12 September, and the mood around him turned further when he was jeered by his own fans after being substituted in the Carabao Cup exit to Liverpool.

A move to City would also be a clear step up in standing, with Opta's latest power rankings placing them at 97.0 against Chelsea's 93.3.

Whether it actually solves his game-time problem is less certain, since Nunes already looks first-choice in that role at City, so Gusto could end up swapping one pecking order for another.

Selling club incentive

Chelsea have already answered the obvious question about life without Gusto.

Josh Acheampong has taken his place at right-back under Xabi Alonso, and the academy graduate's form is the reason Gusto has barely featured in the league since September.

That ready-made alternative removes the biggest practical reason a club resists selling a player, since Chelsea would not be left short if he moved on in January.

The counterweight is that Chelsea feel no pressure to sell, since his contract runs to 2030 and there is no clock forcing their hand, which is reflected in a £75m valuation that has not moved since the summer.

Market momentum

The sourcing behind this one is thinner than the volume of coverage suggests.

talkSPORT's report from 12 November is the origin of the £75m figure and the framing that both Manchester clubs are monitoring Gusto, and that single story has since been repeated widely rather than independently confirmed.

Neither club has made a formal approach, according to that same report, which puts this closer to background interest than an active chase.

BBC Sport's own gossip column has also carried the story, with its own line that Gusto is weighing his options, which at least gives this a second outlet rather than one voice echoed everywhere.

Malo Gusto to Man City: Will or won't it happen?

This sits right on the border between Possible and Likely, and that is a fair reflection of where the story actually stands.

The Maresca connection and Chelsea's clear willingness to let Gusto go if the price is met are the strongest arguments for City eventually doing business.

Until one of the Manchester clubs turns interest into an actual approach, or City's own financial picture becomes clearer, this stays a reunion waiting for a trigger rather than a deal in motion.