MALO GUSTO has “agreed personal terms” as Chelsea launch their first bid for the Lyon right-back.
The Blues have switched attention from Denzel Dumfries to the France under-21 star as they struggle to bolster their options out wide in defence.
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano claims Chelsea are now in “direct contact with Lyon” over the 19-year-old.
And Gusto is said to be happy with the details of the long-term contract on offer at Stamford Bridge.
So the Blues have a week left to agree a fee with the Ligue 1 giants.
Gusto would surely be an easier and cheaper option to recruit than Dumfries.
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Inter Milan’s Holland ace has also been linked with Manchester United and could cost around £53million.
Blues’ boss Graham Potter has splashed nearly £400m since the summer.
But Chelsea’s England full-backs Reece James and Ben Chilwell have only recently returned to training after serious injury.
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And in their absence players like Trevoh Chalobah, Cesar Azpilicueta and Conor Gallagher have failed to fully convince.
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It means Potter could pounce in the final week of the transfer window, having already made six January signings for £189m in total.
Joao Felix on loan, plus Mykhailo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana, Andrey Santos and Noni Madueke have come in so far.
Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly has promised to keep backing Potter over his under-achieving players.
And it’s possible the Blues’ spending over two transfer windows could end up close to £500m by the end of the month.
On top of that, Felix’s £10m loan move from Atletico Madrid could become permanent in the summer after a clause in his deal was removed.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
