Xabi Alonso on the verge of another Chelsea transfer mistake

Chelsea have been the most active club in the transfer market throughout BlueCo’s spell as owners and that is unlikely to change during the upcoming January window.

It’s understood that a formal bid is set to be submitted for Bournemouth midfielder Alex Scott, after failing to secure his signature over the summer, while the Blues are also keeping close tabs on Arsenal star Martin Zubimendi amid his lack of game time so far this season.

Como centre-back Jacobo Ramon remains on their radar too, with the club ready to bolster the first-team squad at Xabi Alonso’s disposal in their bid to return to the Champions League.

While potential incomings will dominate the headlines, Chelsea are also considering a number of exits and it has been widely reported that Malo Gusto may be sold on a permanent deal if a suitable offer is received.

The France right-back was tipped to leave Stamford Bridge this summer, but Chelsea’s €90 million asking price proved too steep and he ultimately remained in west London.

However, Gusto has fallen out of favour under new boss Alonso and he is open to leaving Chelsea during the January transfer window, with the club also willing to finalise a sale for the right price.

With club captain Reece James sidelined through injury, Josh Acheampong has established himself as Alonso’s preferred right-back during the early months of the 2026-27 campaign, and summer signing Marco Palestra was even selected ahead of Gusto for the 1-0 loss to Sunderland before the November international break.

It appears unlikely that Gusto will climb his way back up the pecking order at Stamford Bridge, and both Manchester City and Manchester United are reportedly interested in finalising a deal this winter.

Alonso’s first transfer window at Chelsea was largely successful. The signing of Morgan Rogers has already worked out, Jordan Henderson has played a surprisingly key role this term, and Maxence Lacroix has been steady whenever selected.

However, the sale of Nicolas Jackson to Aston Villa looks like a major error in hindsight, especially considering Joao Pedro’s recent injury woes, while offloading Enzo Fernandez without securing a replacement has also come back to bite the Blues.

Selling Gusto could be the next mistake, despite his subpar form over the past 12 months.

During his debut season at Chelsea, under Mauricio Pochettino’s management, Gusto was deployed as a traditional right-back, and he was required to overlap Cole Palmer in attacking phases of play, resulting in nine assists across all competitions.

There is little doubt that Gusto was one of Chelsea’s standout performers across the campaign and, at the time, his €30 million transfer fee was regarded as a snip.

However, he was soon asked to invert into midfield following the sacking of Pochettino, and his form has never quite recovered.

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) November 9, 2026

Gusto displayed glimpses of his potential under Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior, but he never reached the heights of his form during the 2023-24 season. Under Alonso, meanwhile, he’s barely been given a chance.

On the face of it, sanctioning a sale looks like a sensible idea, especially given the presence of Acheampong, Palestra and James, and the fact that Genesis Antwi is impressing on loan at sister club Strasbourg.

However, data analytics experts SciSports believe that Chelsea must retain Gusto’s services if possible.

He is rated as Chelsea’s seventh-best player, using their SciSkill metric, and the club’s second-best defender, behind only Levi Colwill. He also has the second-highest SciSkill potential of any defender at the club, with Jorrel Hato leading the way.

Palestra may have arrived from Atalanta for €57m over the summer, but SciSports’ algorithm suggests that he is currently a far inferior player to Gusto, while he also doesn’t have the same potential as the Frenchman.

Alonso may not fancy Gusto, however the data suggests that selling him in January would be his latest Chelsea transfer error.