In Chelsea Transfer News, Chelsea have agreed to pay £26.3m plus add-ons for the services of 19-year-old Malo Gusto, plus giving up on signing Benfica midfielder before January transfer window closes.
£26.3m deal for Lyon right-back with player returning to France on loan
Chelsea have signed Lyon right-back Malo Gusto for £26.3m, with the 19-year-old spending the rest of the season back in France on loan.
Gusto becomes the latest Chelsea arrival, on a seven-and-a-half-year deal at Stamford Bridge, and will end 2022/23 with his former club, for whom he has made 15 Ligue 1 appearances this season.
His signing takes Chelsea’s January spending past the £200m mark, following on from Noni Madueke’s arrival in West London last week.
Lyon head coach Laurent Blanc had previously said that the board had guaranteed to him that Gusto would stay at the club for the rest of the season.
“The board have guaranteed to me that (Rayan) Cherki and Malo Gusto will be here until the end of the season,” Blanc told reporters on Friday.
Chelsea Transfer News: Boehly not giving up on signing Enzo before January transfer window closes
Chelsea have not given up on trying to sign Benfica midfielder Enzo Fernandez before the January transfer window closes on Tuesday.
Chelsea have been in talks to sign the Argentine throughout this month but Benfica have so far refused to do business unless the Blues pay the €120m (£105.4m) release clause.
Chelsea have offered players on loan and on permanent deals but the Portuguese side have so far refused to accept anything except the release clause.
If Chelsea do meet Benfica’s valuation, the transfer for Fernandez would surpass the £100m Man City paid for Jack Grealish from Aston Villa 18 months ago, making him the most expensive Premier League signing ever.
The 22-year-old wants to move to Chelsea but he has been training and playing since he was dropped for one game for going on an unauthorised trip home to Argentina for a New Year’s Eve party.
Fernandez, who won the Best Young Player award at the 2022 World Cup with winners Argentina, played in Saturday’s 3-0 league win at Santa Clara.
For more Chelsea Transfer News, follow Sportz Point.
