Chelsea loanee Malo Gusto (19) is back in contention for formative club Lyon, Les Gones‘ head coach Laurent Blanc has announced in his pre-game press conference. In January, Lyon and the Blues struck an agreement over a €40m move for the promising right-back. However, a loan back was included in the move, allowing Lyon to keep Gusto until the end of the season.
Laurent Blanc’s side are yet to really benefit from the loan as much as they would have wanted, with Gusto having been unavailable for several months with a hip injury. The prized Lyon youth product had spent weeks at Chelsea’s medical wing in order to return to match fitness and get acquainted with his future teammates.
However, it appears now that Blanc will be able to rely on the 19-year-old for Lyon’s run-in to qualify for an European competition next season. Lyon are in 7th place with a 5-point deficit on fifth-placed Lille after a convincing run of three Ligue 1 wins on the bounce. Lyon will host second-placed Marseille for a mouth-watering Sunday night feature between the two Olympiques. “Malo Gusto is ready to play, but only since a short period of time. We hoped he’d return way sooner“, Blanc said, according to Foot Mercato. The 1998 World Cup winner with France has encouraged his young player to make the most of his last few weeks with Lyon. “If you want playing time, you have to go get it. Let’s forget the Chelsea episode, it’s been a long time since he last wore the OL shirt.”
GFFN | Bastien Cheval