Malo Gusto will now need to battle for first team starting spot – Talk Chelsea

Malo Gusto was one of the shining lights at Chelsea last season despite a largely tough and toxic season at the club.

The one positive that we always went back to, and the one player who we all agreed was an excellent bit of recruitment from the sporting directors, is Malo Gusto.

He has been a superb signing, and nobody can doubt that.

However, he has slipped away a little this season, and I’m finding it hard to put my finger on why.

Is it because he is being asked to play as an inverted full back and this has just become too much for a young player? Perhaps. He is still only 21-years-old, so he is still very much developing and learning.

I think that he perhaps just needs to keep the focus on becoming a consistently top right back rather than being asked to do two roles at once, it’s just a big ask and takes a lot of concentration and awareness.

I love Gusto, and this is absolutely not me writing him off at all or losing faith. I think he’s an excellent right back and there was moments last season where I’d even have picked him ahead of a fit Reece James. He was that good.

But I do fear that he is on the verge of losing his starting place in the A-Team, and maybe that might actually be a good thing? To take a step backwards to then go forwards again?

After being removed at half time against Manchester United after another poor performance at the weekend, I’d suspect Gusto will now start against Noah in the Conference League this Thursday night as part of the B-Team, and Marc Cucurella will then start against Arsenal on Sunday, moving back into the A-Team. Cucurella by the way, has earned that place and has deserved it. He continues to impress this season.

Gusto will be back, I am sure of it. Dips in form do happen and it’s absolutely fine. But I just don’t think he should be inverting at the moment. Which begs the question, where does he fit in now in Maresca’s team?