Chelsea set new price for Man City to sign Malo Gusto after Marco Palestra transfer

Malo Gusto is currently playing for France at the 2026 World Cup (Photo: Getty)

Chelsea have reportedly upped their asking price for Malo Gusto amid rumours Enzo Maresca wants to sign him for Manchester City .

Xabi Alonso is closing in on his first signing at Stamford Bridge, with Marco Palestra set to join from Atalanta in a deal worth upwards of £43million.

The addition of the right-back has thrown into question the future of Gusto who has been an important and versatile member of the squad for the past three seasons.

The Mauricio Pochettino signing has made 134 appearances for the Blues so far, winning the Club World Cup and Conference League under Maresca.

(Picture: Getty)

The Italian is expected to be announced as Pep Guardiola ’s successor in the City dugout very soon, albeit once a settlement agreement with Chelsea is reached .

And it was rumoured this week that Maresca is keen on reuniting with Gusto at the Etihad. City are aiming to sign a new right-back and had previously shown interest in Palestra.

Chelsea are open to a sale and initial reports suggested that an offer of at least £40m would be accepted , ensuring a small profit on the £31m spent on the former Lyon defender.

Marco Palestra is set to become Xabi Alonso’s first Chelsea signing (Photo: Getty)

But the Daily Mail now reports that Chelsea’s valuation of Gusto is in fact much, much higher – £75million to be exact.

There is interest in the 23-year-old, who is currently at the World Cup with France, from elsewhere in Europe and it is not known whether he is interested in a transfer.

The price tag will no doubt frustrate City, who have just splashed a record £116m on Nottingham Forest and England star Elliott Anderson.

Gusto was an important player in Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea side (Photo: Getty)

It is also said that while Gusto’s Chelsea future is up in the air, the same cannot be said of teammate Josh Acheampong.

The young defender has been the subject of much transfer interest for some time and has struggled for minutes at Stamford Bridge, both at right-back and centre-back.

It would seem that the arrival of Palestra would only further limit the 20-year-old’s game time, but it is said Chelsea now view Acheampong exclusively as a centre-back and he remains one of the club’s ‘untouchable’ players.

This stance, Palestra’s signing and the pursuit of Crystal Palace star Maxence Lacroix , strongly hints that Alonso plans to implement his favoured 3-4-2-1 formation that he used to great success at Bayer Leverkusen.

We’ll know for sure when Chelsea take on local rivals Fulham in their opening game of the 2026/27 Premier League season on August 24.