Enzo Maresca's Challenge: Pursuing Malo Gusto at Manchester City

Enzo Maresca has not even been unveiled at the Etihad yet, but his first battle with his former employers is already taking shape – and it’s over Malo Gusto.

Manchester City have reached an agreement on compensation with Chelsea and are poised to confirm Maresca as Pep Guardiola’s successor. The Italian walked out of Stamford Bridge in January, barely six months after delivering the Club World Cup, and now steps into one of the most daunting jobs in modern football: following Guardiola at a club built in his image.

He knows the dangers. Manchester United’s struggles after Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsenal’s long search for stability post-Arsène Wenger are fresh reminders of how quickly a dynasty can unravel once the architect departs. Maresca wants his own fingerprints on this City side from day one, not a slow slide into comparison with the man he replaces.

That is where Gusto comes in.

Maresca turns to familiar faces

Maresca has already been linked with raids on his old dressing room, with Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernández both on his wishlist. Palmer, though, has been branded “untouchable” by the Chelsea hierarchy, while Real Madrid are leading the chase for the unsettled Fernández.

So the focus has shifted to another of his former charges. According to talkSPORT, Maresca is pushing hard for City to move for Gusto, the dynamic French right-back who has grown into a key figure at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea are not slamming the door. Reports earlier this week suggested the club would listen to offers for Gusto, who joined from Lyon in 2023 for £31m and has since become a mainstay, racking up 134 appearances over the past three seasons. At 23, he is established, battle-tested in the Premier League and still with room to grow.

That profile fits City perfectly. But it will not come cheap.

Chelsea set their price

With Chelsea closing in on Inter Milan defender Marco Palestra in a £51m deal, the London club are braced for a reshaped back line. As they prepare to welcome Palestra to west London, Gusto has emerged as one of the saleable assets who could help balance the books without gutting the squad.

The price being discussed is at least £40m. For City, that is a significant outlay on a position they have often filled with tactical flexibility rather than a specialist. For Chelsea, it would represent a swift profit on a player whose value has risen sharply since his arrival from Ligue 1.

Gusto’s stock is not just domestic. He is currently at the World Cup with a heavily fancied France squad and came off the bench in their 3–0 win over Iraq on Monday. Those minutes on the global stage will only harden Chelsea’s stance when negotiations begin.

City’s summer puzzle

Right-back is not the only item on City’s shopping list. The champions-in-waiting under Maresca have made a new midfielder their main priority, with England World Cup standout Elliot Anderson at the top of their agenda.

City are weighing up a third bid for Anderson after Nottingham Forest rejected a second offer worth £120m. It is a bold pursuit, the kind of move that signals a club refusing to retreat even as one era ends and another begins.

Maresca inherits a squad that, under Guardiola, dominated English football and signed off last season with a domestic cup double. Yet the Premier League slipped away in Guardiola’s final campaign, Arsenal finishing seven points clear to claim the title. That gap stings at the Etihad. It also gives Maresca immediate clarity: this is not a gentle handover; it is a demand to hit the ground running.

Gusto, if City can prise him away, would be more than a comfort signing for a new manager in a new dressing room. He would be an early statement that Maresca intends to shape this City side in his own way, with players he trusts and a back line built for the next cycle, not the last.

Chelsea, for their part, must decide how many pieces of the Maresca era they are willing to see walk straight into his new one.