Malo Gusto’s starting place at Chelsea has gone. Xabi Alonso, the Spaniard who took charge at Stamford Bridge in the summer, has preferred 20-year-old academy product Josh Acheampong on the right of defence since the start of the season.

The 23-year-old France international last started a Premier League match on 12 September, and he reached 100 Premier League appearances for Chelsea coming off the bench in the 1-0 defeat at Sunderland before the November international break.

Goal.com reported on Thursday that Manchester United and Manchester City are both monitoring Gusto ahead of a possible January move, with Chelsea holding a £75m valuation.

Acheampong has taken the shirt

Reece James has been sidelined by injury again this autumn, and in a different season that would have been Gusto’s cue. Acheampong has taken the shirt and kept it.

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Chelsea rate the 20-year-old so highly that they are preparing to reward him with a new, improved contract on top of a deal that already runs to June 2029. Alonso met Acheampong’s representatives in the summer to tell him he would have a first-team role, and Acheampong has delivered on that promise.

Gusto has not. Sports Mole reported on 11 November that he had “amicably” told Chelsea he is open to exploring a move, with six starts and four substitute appearances under Alonso to show for the season so far.

Maresca wants a reunion, but City have bigger concerns

Enzo Maresca, who worked with Gusto at Chelsea last season before moving to Manchester City in the summer, would welcome the signing. The financial room for a £75m deal is less straightforward.

City are still awaiting the outcome of the Premier League’s case against them over 114 alleged breaches of financial rules, and the uncertainty around any potential sanction hangs over any serious winter spend.

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United in a managerial vacuum

Any approach from Old Trafford is complicated by the fact that Michael Carrick was sacked on Thursday after Manchester United’s worst start to a Premier League season in 40 years, with the club in the relegation zone.

Mauricio Pochettino is expected to take over, with reports pointing to his first game being the trip to Liverpool on 22 November.

Chelsea originally paid Lyon around £26m for Gusto in January 2023. He has three and a half years left on his contract, finished fourth with France at the 2026 World Cup, and no club was willing to meet Chelsea’s number when the Londoners tried to move him in the summer.

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