Chelsea ‘agree’ deal to sign Ligue 1 starlet but will have to wait for debut until next season

Chelsea agree deal to sign Malo Gusto and loan him back to Lyon

According to The Telegraph (Subscription Required), Chelsea have agreed on a deal to sign Olympique Lyonnais right-back Malo Gusto and loan him back to the French side for the rest of this season.

It is confirmed that Chelsea will pay a fee of around £26m to sign the 19-year-old. He will have his medical in London before going back to France to play the remainder of this campaign for Lyon and permanently coming to Stamford Bridge in the summer.

A few days ago, it was revealed that the Blues had a £17.6m offer rejected by the Ligue 1 side as they wanted to keep hold of the youngster. Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas even tweeted that the right-back will play for the club till the summer.

Keeping those things in mind, it is a clever move by Chelsea to not switch targets, but rather sign the player now and loan him back to the French giants for the next few months.

Chelsea’s recruitment team believe Gusto is the best right-back for those aged 20 and under. They did not want to risk losing him to a rival club in the summer by opting not to do any deal now.

The 19-year-old is seen as an ideal support cast for Reece James in the right-back/right-wing-back position. It is also believed that the arrival of the Frenchman would also allow Graham Potter to use James in different positions.

In a window where it has seemed that the club has done some crazy business, this sounds like a perfectly done deal. Securing a top target and also adhering to the demands of the selling club is a solution well executed by the boardroom staff.

More Chelsea News:

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• U-21 Chelsea starlets Charlie Webster and Malik Mothersille to get new contracts
• Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante closing in on a return from long injury layoff

Now, the hope is that Gusto has an excellent remainder of this campaign and he comes to London fit and ready for the pre-season. This could also be a hint as to what the future may hold for 33-year-old Cesar Azpilicueta, who could be in the twilight years of his career given his age.