Liverpool Targets Malo Gusto as Right-Back Solution

Liverpool’s window has finally woken up. Now it could take a sharp turn down the right flank.

With just over two weeks left before the deadline, the club’s recruitment drive under Andoni Iraola is shifting gear. Two signings are already through the door – Victor Munoz for £34.5 million from Osasuna and Ronald Araujo on loan from Barcelona – but inside Anfield there’s no sense that the job is close to done.

Iraola wants more. And he wants them quickly.

Right flank under the microscope

Attack has been the headline area, with Bradley Barcola long established as Liverpool’s preferred option out wide. Paris Saint‑Germain’s £145m valuation stands as a brick wall for now, but the club’s need for another winger to compete with Rio Ngumoha and Cody Gakpo hasn’t gone away.

Just behind them on the list, though, sits a position that has quietly become a problem: right-back.

Since Trent Alexander-Arnold walked away to Real Madrid on a free last summer, Liverpool have been patching that side together. Dominik Szoboszlai spent far too much of last season firefighting in a role that doesn’t suit his strengths, while Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley both endured stop‑start campaigns through injury.

Frimpong is currently Iraola’s first-choice option, but his profile screams wing-back rather than orthodox full-back. That tactical wrinkle has pushed Liverpool to scan the market for a specialist.

Their gaze has landed on Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool join race for Malo Gusto

Chelsea’s Malo Gusto has emerged as a serious name on Liverpool’s radar, with club insider Simon Phillips reporting that the 23‑year‑old is admired not only at Anfield but also by Tottenham, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.

There is a catch. There always is.

Chelsea have slapped a £75m asking price on the Frenchman, a figure high enough that City have already backed away from talks. That valuation has been well publicised, yet the situation is not as rigid as it first appears.

According to Phillips, Gusto has been pushing to leave Stamford Bridge for the past four months. That pressure from the player’s side could force Chelsea to soften their stance and bring the fee down to something more realistic for his suitors.

If that happens, Liverpool will be ready.

From key man to crowded queue

Gusto played 34 times in the Premier League last season, a strong return that underlined his importance in West London. But Chelsea’s summer reshuffle has changed the picture.

The £47m arrival of Marco Palestra from Atalanta has added another layer of competition on the right, with the Italian expected to battle Reece James for minutes at right wing-back or even in midfield in Xabi Alonso’s system. That leaves Gusto staring at a reduced role just as he enters what should be the defining years of his career.

Chelsea paid £35m to sign him from Lyon in January 2023 when he was still only 19. Since then he has developed into one of the Premier League’s most eye‑catching young defenders, a 16‑cap France international capable of operating as a right-back or wing-back in multiple shapes.

The numbers back up the eye test. Across 134 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions, he has produced three goals and 17 assists – not outrageous for a forward, but impressive for a defender whose game is built on more than just end product.

The fit at Anfield

For Iraola, the attraction is obvious. Gusto is an all‑action full-back: rapid, aggressive, relentless in transition, and happy to live high up the pitch. He would not simply cover Frimpong; he would challenge him.

That level of internal competition is exactly what Liverpool have lacked on that side since Alexander-Arnold’s departure. A pairing of Frimpong and Gusto would give Iraola the flexibility to flip between back fours and wing-back systems without sacrificing quality or intensity.

There is, however, one obstacle that won’t go away: the fee.

Liverpool’s interest is real, but the £75m price tag remains the only significant barrier to progress. Should Chelsea climb down – nudged by Gusto’s desire to move and the shifting hierarchy on their right flank – the equation changes.

At that point, the question won’t be whether Liverpool rate Malo Gusto.

It will be whether he sees Iraola’s fast-building project at Anfield as the stage on which to take the next step of his career.