Gusto has the legs but not the technique to play in midfield – Maresca speaks about defender’s switch | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca’s explosive comments on Saturday came out of nowhere – and they actually came in the middle of an answer he was giving about Malo Gusto.

The full back had a goal and an assist in the 2-0 win over Everton and deserved a little more coverage, so the media went back for another try today. This time they did get a little more out of the coach, on the subject of whether Gusto could play as a full time midfielder in the future after the success he’s had inverting into that position.

Maresca on playing Gusto and James in midfield

Reece James and Malo Gusto in a montage. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

“I see Malo and Reece [James], that they can play in both positions, full-back and midfielder,” Maresca explained.

“Now it depends where we need them. We’re going to use them. Again, the last game against Everton, we played with Malo and Reece, both in the midfield. They are both full-backs, but they can also play as a midfielder. And we are happy for Malo because he never scored before in his career. Now he’s scored already two. Something similar happened with Cucu last year. He scored six, seven goals. So we are happy to help players to improve and to get better.”

Gusto has the legs to play in midfield but probably not the technique or the brain to play such a difficult role – unlike James.

In other news…

Cole Palmer’s status was a major part of the presser. The attacker played and scored on Saturday but still didn’t look 100%, and some have speculated he’s still injured. Maresca gave an update on his status for tomorrow night.

The main story in the presser was about Maresca himself after his comments at the weekend. He took the chance to point to his good cup record since joining Chelsea, and that’s no coincidence.