Malo Gusto: Enzo Maresca's Target for Manchester City

Enzo Maresca has not even been unveiled at the Etihad yet, but his first battle with Chelsea already appears to be under way.

The incoming Manchester City head coach, who has agreed to succeed Pep Guardiola after a compensation deal between the clubs, is pushing for a reunion with Malo Gusto, the French right-back he worked with at Stamford Bridge, according to reports in England.

Maresca moves quickly

Maresca walked away from Chelsea in January, barely six months after lifting the Club World Cup in his first season in charge. Now he steps into one of the most intimidating jobs in modern football: following Guardiola at a club conditioned to win everything.

History offers a warning. Manchester United stumbled when Sir Alex Ferguson handed over to David Moyes. Arsenal needed years to find stability after Arsene Wenger. Maresca is determined not to become the next man swallowed by a legacy.

So he wants his own players. His own dressing room voices. And he has not been shy about looking back to Chelsea to find them.

Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez have both been on his radar, but Chelsea have drawn a hard line. Palmer is considered “untouchable” by the board, while Real Madrid are leading the chase for Fernandez, who is open to leaving.

Gusto, though, is different. Chelsea are listening.

Gusto on City’s list

Chelsea’s stance on Gusto has shifted as they close in on Inter Milan defender Marco Palestra in a £51m deal. City had been in that race, only to be beaten to the punch and forced to look elsewhere for defensive reinforcements.

One of those alternatives is Gusto. Chelsea, preparing for Palestra’s arrival, are understood to want at least £40m for the right-back.

The 23-year-old joined from Lyon in 2023 for £31m and has since become a fixture in the Chelsea side, racking up 134 appearances across three seasons. He has grown into a dependable outlet on the flank, aggressive in the press and quick to break forward.

His profile fits what City like in a full-back: athletic, technically clean, comfortable operating high and wide or tucking inside. For Maresca, who already knows his personality and training habits, the attraction is obvious.

Gusto is currently at the World Cup with a heavily backed France squad and came off the bench in their 3-0 win over Iraq on Monday. Any serious negotiations will have to work around that schedule, but interest is not cooling.

City’s wider transfer picture

Right-back is not the only area on the agenda at the Etihad. City’s priority this summer remains a new midfielder, with England World Cup standout Elliot Anderson at the top of their list.

City are weighing up a third offer for Anderson after Nottingham Forest rejected a second bid worth £120m. It is a bold pursuit, even by City’s standards, and underlines the scale of the rebuild Maresca is prepared to oversee.

He inherits a side that dominated English football under Guardiola and still managed a domestic cup double last season. Yet the final league campaign of the Guardiola era ended with a jolt: City finished seven points behind new champions Arsenal and surrendered the Premier League crown.

That slip has opened the door for change. Tactical tweaks. New leaders. New full-backs.

If Maresca gets his way, one of them might be Malo Gusto, walking into the Etihad dressing room from Stamford Bridge and straight into the task of helping City reclaim the title Guardiola could not keep in his final year.