Liverpool made a late attempt to sign France international fullback Malo Gusto from Chelsea this summer, according to Fabrice Hawkins.
There is no shortage of fullbacks at Chelsea. Although club captain Reece James has largely been deployed in midfield, he is arguably the club’s best fullback and, on his day, arguably the best in the league. Other options include summer arrival Marco Palestra and France international Malo Gusto.
However, Liverpool have seen the opposite, with incessant injuries depleting their options. Jeremie Frimpong is currently Andoni Iraola’s only senior natural right-back option, as Conor Bradley continues to recover from a lengthy injury he suffered last season.
Frimpong has been shaky so far, prompting the manager to deploy Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back late in the game against Nottingham Forest. It was reminiscent of last season, when the Hungarian midfielder regularly filled in at right-back under Arne Slot.
As a result, it’s no surprise Liverpool have been linked with a move for a new right-back, with Fabrice Hawkins reporting that the Reds made a late push to sign Gusto on loan from Chelsea without a buy obligation.
Late attempt
However, Chelsea rebuffed the proposal because they insist on selling the French international permanently, according to Hawkins.
Amid reports that Chelsea could be demanding a fee well above Gusto’s £30m Transfermarkt valuation, the deal now appears to be off the cards, as the French transfer expert adds that Liverpool do not have the financial means to match Chelsea’s financial demands for the 23-year-old.
It has not been the best start to the season for Liverpool, who currently sit in 13th place after failing to win either of their opening two games.
Their 2-2 draw to Forest at Anfield meant that the Merseyside giants have failed to win any of their opening two games for just the second time in the last 14 Premier League seasons.
They finished in fifth place after recording two draws in their opening two games of the 2022-23 season, and Iraola will hope that is not the case, especially after Slot was sacked last season for finishing fifth.
The former Bournemouth boss…
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