Mauricio Pochettino’s appointment as the new Chelsea manager is edging closer, and he will need to begin the unenviable task of trimming down a hideously bloated squad.
The new ownership, led by Todd Boehly has splashed £585.5m on 16 new players in two transfer windows, leaving the Blues in a frenzy of instability and chaos.
The 51-year-old is entering this cauldron with an expectation that he will be handed autonomy over future dealings to nurture a more finely-tuned squad to prevent a repetition of this horrendous campaign, which has left the West Londoners in 11th place.
However, one player whose arrival at Stamford Bridge has already been finalised is Malo Gusto, and Pochettino could unearth the Frenchman as his next Kyle Walker.
How did Walker play under Pochettino?
The 32-year-old played under the Argentine for three seasons between 2014 and 2017, forming a formidable reputation as one of the country’s most consistent and electric forces.
The 75-cap international was a vital member of the side that came third and second in consecutive campaigns.
In the 2015/16 season, the Englishman made 33 Premier League appearances for a side that conceded just 35 goals in 38 games, the joint-lowest in the division. During this time, he averaged 2.6 tackles, 2.8 interceptions, and 3.2 clearances per game, according to WhoScored.
The right-back was then signed in a £50m deal by Pep Guardiola for Manchester City, making 247 appearances and winning four league titles, but he owes a lot of his success to the exceptional tutelage of Pochettino.
How good is Malo Gusto?
The youngster has been at Lyon since 2016 and has risen through the academy ranks, before making his first-team debut in January 2021.
At the start of the 2021/22 season, Gusto started his club’s opening Ligue 1 game against Brest to become the youngest defender to start a league game, aged 18 years and 80 days, breaking Samuel Umtiti’s record in 2012.
The right-back has gone on to make 59 appearances for the French outfit and was signed for £26.3m in the last transfer window, before being loaned out to his parent club for the remainder of the term.
Gusto, now valued at around £24m by FootballTransfers, has been hailed for his limitless potential and defensive capabilities by football.london’s Bobby Vincent, who said:
“Malo Gusto is very dangerous going forward. He's very quick and athletic and has an eye for a cross on the right-hand side. Also, he's very good at defending one-versus-one situations. Looks a real talent."
The attributes listed by Vincent are all qualities that are strongly associated with Walker, and Gusto could follow the same path of tremendous progress under the guidance of Pochettino, should Boehly finally get a deal for the manager over the line ahead of pre-season.
