Malo Gusto has endured a whirlwind first four months as an official Chelsea player. Even before his confirmed signing as a new right-back for the Blues, the transfer saga between Lyon and Chelsea was chaotic before the two parties eventually agreed on a £26.3 million deal in January that would see the teenager return to France on loan for the remainder of the season.
Unfortunately, Gusto suffered a worrying hamstring injury in just his second game back at Lyon with Chelsea then confirming in mid-February he would complete his rehabilitation at Cobham. News on his recovery subsequently went quiet over the following few weeks which was said to have angered Lyon and manager Laurent Blanc, as per Leprogres.
The 19-year-old returned to the matchday squad for Lyon in April for their Ligue 1 encounter against Marseille. Ahead of the game, Gusto was a firm topic of discussion with Blanc openly admitting his annoyance with how the last few months had panned out.
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"Malo Gusto is a subject in itself," Blanc said in a press conference. "Pragmatically, he's fit to play, but he hasn't been able to play for long. [His departure to Chelsea] went on too long for my taste. Let's forget the episode, he is there and there are seven games left.
"I told him to take advantage of the playing time he can have. I think he must be happy to train with his mates and he is fit for Sunday."
The French club looked set to ease Gusto back into action as he was awarded a 10-minute cameo against Marseille. Despite his brief appearance, Gusto was involved in a match-defining moment, unfortunately it was at the wrong end of the pitch.
With the game finely poised at 1-1, Marseille strode forward on the attack with defender Sinaly Diomande's clearance hitting Gusto before rolling slowly into the net. The result places Lyon seventh in the table ahead of next Friday's fixture against Strasbourg.
Gusto will hope to get more game time for Lyon before reporting for pre-season with Chelsea in the summer.
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