Malo Gusto quits Chelsea: €90m star's perfect next club revealed

Chelsea defender Malo Gusto is ready to jump ship in January after losing his place in Xabi Alonso's starting lineup.

The France international has only featured sparingly in recent Premier League outings, despite captain Reece James being injured. Alonso has favoured young Josh Acheampong and Marco Palestra over Gusto, with the latter receiving just over half an hour of action in the past two months.

Gusto last started a Premier League fixture in mid-September, but this isn't entirely shocking. Already in the summer, the 23-year-old seemed to have an inkling that this would be a difficult season for him under the new manager.

Following the signing of Palestra, reports started emerging that Gusto was open to a late-window move. This piqued the interest of Man City, Liverpool and PSG, but Chelsea weren't really keen on losing the full-back.

They slapped a prohibitive €90 million price tag on him, which ultimately meant that he had to stay put. At the time, his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) was below €50m, so it was no surprise that his suitors were reluctant to meet Chelsea's demands.

With the January window approaching, speculation over Gusto's future at Stamford Bridge is increasing. Recent reports have suggested that he remains keen to leave the club, and this has now been confirmed by the BBC.

The 23-year-old is "assessing his options" with a view to leaving the club. However, that is all the information the report provides. It is unclear what Chelsea's stance on a transfer is and whether Man City could reignite their interest.

Other reports have suggested that Chelsea have warmed to the idea of selling Gusto because he has become surplus to requirements and that they could be willing to compromise on their hefty summer demands. Ultimately, only time will tell if this is really the case.

As for Man City, it is difficult to imagine that they will be able to attract high-profile players in January given the uncertainty surrounding their charges and the looming threat of a monumental punishment.

What about Liverpool and PSG? Right-back has been a problem position for the Reds since the departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold, but they have now found some stability thanks to Ronald Araujo's encouraging form.

PSG, meanwhile, were interested in Gusto as a potential backup to Achraf Hakimi. They could still be in the market for a new right-back, but the Chelsea outcast surely wants to be a regular starter at his new club.

There are surely better options for him out there, and data from analytics firm SciSports confirms this. Using its Career Advice tool, which analyses factors such as development prospects, expected game time and stylistic suitability, we can see that Gusto should steer clear of PSG and Liverpool.

Both receive a Club Fit rating of 70 out of 100. It's solid but not particularly exciting, and SciSports believes that he could struggle for minutes on Merseyside and in Paris, even though he would suit the styles of Andoni Iraola and Luis Enrique.

His best option, SciSports suggests, would be Atletico Madrid, and this would make a whole lot of sense. The Rojiblancos receive an excellent Club Fit score of 87, with Gusto deemed a perfect replacement for the ageing Marcos Llorente.

A move also makes sense from a developmental point of view. Although Gusto has been called up to the latest French squad, he was snubbed by Zinedine Zidane in September due to concerns over his defensive ability. Learning from Diego Simeone could help him elevate his game.

Beyond Atleti, SciSports suggests that Napoli and Man City could also be decent destinations for him, with both receiving a Club Fit score in the lower 80s. However, we already mentioned the difficulties the latter could have in completing a deal.

As for Napoli, Gusto would likely see plenty of minutes, but he isn't an ideal stylistic fit for Massimiliano Allegri. That might soon become a moot point, with the manager under significant pressure, but at present, Gusto has a much better chance of succeeding at Atleti than at Napoli.