Malo Gusto to Liverpool chances revealed as shock interest in Chelsea star confirmed
A report has revealed whether Liverpool will be able to sign Malo Gusto from Chelsea in January after a trusted reporter confirmed their interest in a surprise deal.
Chelsea insider Simon Phillips reported on August 14 that Liverpool had joined Manchester City in showing interest in Gusto. New City boss Enzo Maresca remains a fan of the right-back after working with him at Chelsea.
Phillips also suggested Chelsea could consider dropping their £75million price tag for Gusto if Liverpool or City formalised their interest.
On Tuesday, reliable French journalist Fabrice Hawkins confirmed Liverpool’s interest in Gusto, even stating that the Reds made a late attempt to sign him before the transfer deadline.
‘Liverpool made a final push today to sign Malo Gusto on loan, but the attempt ended without success,’ Hawkins wrote on X.
‘The Reds were only willing to consider a loan with no mandatory buy clause, while Chelsea were pushing for a permanent transfer.
‘Liverpool simply don’t have the financial means to make a permanent deal happen.’
As per an update from Football Insider, Liverpool were ‘priced out’ of a move for the French full-back on deadline day.
The report reads: ‘The clubs were unable to agree on the terms of a move, with Liverpool keen on a loan with an option to buy, while Chelsea stood firm on an outright sale or loan with an obligation to buy.’
FI transfer reporter Pete O’Rourke went on to state that Liverpool are unlikely to meet Gusto’s £75m valuation in January, too.
“I think it was more a late query to see if there’s any chance of Chelsea allowing Gusto to leave, but I think Liverpool were looking to do a loan deal with maybe an option to buy,” he said.
“Chelsea’s preference was a permanent sale, whether that be a fee on deadline day or maybe a loan with a mandatory purchase clause in there.
“That’s something Liverpool weren’t willing to do and obviously Chelsea then were happy to keep Malo Gusto.
Malo Gusto price ‘prohibitive’ for Liverpool
“Chelsea’s price tag was quite prohibitive for not just Liverpool, but also there was talk of Manchester City being interested early in the window, and they weren’t going to get anywhere near that £75million valuation that Chelsea had on Gusto’s head, so I can’t see anybody willing to pay that in January either.”
Liverpool spent £29.5m on Jeremie Frimpong in May 2025, but the Dutchman has failed to prove he can be Trent Alexander-Arnold’s long-term successor.
Conor Bradley underwent surgery on a knee issue in January, and he might not return to match fitness until the new year.
Liverpool did sign Ronald Araujo on loan from Barcelona, but he is more of a centre-back than a specialist right-back.
Those factors mean midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai may once again have to deputise on the right side of defence for chunks of the campaign.
Liverpool supporters will hope the club addresses such issues with the capture of a new right-back in January, but Gusto seems unavailable.
