Todd Boehly has been shown why Chelsea must complete the signing of Lyon star Malo Gusto. The 19-year-old defender has been heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge lately as the Blues look to finally sign a back-up to Reece James.
football.london understands that Gusto has agreed personal terms with the west London outfit and that he's eager to join. But, Chelsea are yet to have met the French side's valuation; it's said that the Blues' first proposal was nowhere near Lyon's asking price.
While it's understood that Laurent Blanc's side want to keep the France youth international, a second offer is imminent. Chelsea have been in desperate need of a right-back who can cover for James and the latest statistic proves why Gusto is the perfect understudy.
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According to Opta Analyst Yash Thakur, Gusto has been one of the most dangerous chance creators in Ligue 1 this season alongside the like of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and former Blues target Jonathan Clauss. The youngster has featured 15 times for Lyon this term, directly contributing towards one goal.
Despite having just a single assist under his belt in the French top-flight, Gusto has proved to be the most potent passer of the ball from the right-hand side in the attacking third. He's accumulated 2.773 expected threat (xT) over three quadrants, appearing in more quadrants than anybody else - only Messi has accumulated a greater expected threat.
Expected threat is the change in probability of scoring in different sectors of the pitch resultant of passes, ball-carrying and any other means of moving possession across the field - in this case, the graph only depicts passing. It highlights the quality of players who don't always find themselves directly contributing towards goals and rather their impact in possession affecting the probability of a goal being scored.
This applies to Gusto. A lot of his key attributes stem from having previously playing in midfield in the academy system at Lyon. When asked by the French club's website in January 2021 about how he transitioned into a right-back, he said: "At the start it was to make up the numbers after an injury in the next age group – Under-17s at the time.
"So the coach put me at right-back and I had a good match, and the coach hasn't changed my position since. At first it was tough for me and my father too, who had always seen me play more attacking and now saw me at the back. But it's still football, you have to study the position and you progress quickly."
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