Man City issue £75M Malo Gusto ultimatum to Chelsea with alternative options threat | OneFootball

Manchester City have issued an ultimatum to Chelsea over right-back Malo Gusto and are prepared to walk away if the asking price does not drop, as per a new report.

Gusto, 23, has been identified as a prime candidate to address Manchester City‘s search for a new right-back this summer, a pursuit given an additional dimension by the appointment of Enzo Maresca as the club’s new manager, given the Italian’s close working relationship with the France international during their time together at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca’s arrival at the Etihad Stadium had fuelled hope within City’s fanbase that a personal connection between manager and target could prove decisive in any pursuit of Gusto, with the defender previously understood to be open to a reunion with his former coach should a deal be structured correctly.

However, the recent compensation dispute between the two clubs over Maresca’s exit from Stamford Bridge added a layer of complexity to any direct transfer negotiations – and it now appears that Chelsea‘s valuation of Gusto has presented a further stumbling block as City look to conclude their business in the right-back position before the window closes.

Director of football Hugo Viana is not expected to be held to ransom simply because a player fits a specific profile, with the pursuit of Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson representing the one area where City were prepared to break the market – and even there, the fee was justified by the player’s profile rather than the desperation of the buying club.

Romano: City not planning to spend £75M as Chelsea hold firm

According to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, Manchester City like Gusto and Maresca appreciates him, but the club are “not planning to spend £75 million” on the right-back as Chelsea currently value him at that price.

Romano adds that if Chelsea’s asking price does not drop, City “would explore different options” – a clear signal from within the Etihad Stadium that the pursuit of Gusto is conditional on a significant reduction in the valuation rather than a move the club intend to complete at any cost.

The framing of City’s position as a considered commercial decision rather than a rejection of the player himself is notable, with the report making clear that the appreciation for Gusto within City’s hierarchy remains intact – it is the price, not the profile, that stands between the two clubs at this stage of negotiations.

Chelsea’s insistence on £75 million for Gusto comes at a delicate moment in the relationship between the two clubs, with the Maresca compensation saga having already introduced a degree of friction that is unlikely to make either party particularly inclined to make concessions in a separate transfer negotiation.

What does City’s stance mean for their right-back search this summer?

The emergence of an alternative options threat gives City genuine leverage in the negotiation, but also raises the question of who those alternatives might be and whether any of them offer the same combination of age, Premier League experience and tactical fit under Maresca that made Gusto such an attractive proposition in the first place.

Viana’s recruitment approach throughout the summer has demonstrated a willingness to pursue multiple targets simultaneously rather than becoming fixated on a single name, with the right-back position having already proven difficult to address through the conventional market – a factor that partially explains the consideration of Lille’s Ayyoub Bouaddi as a potential positional conversion option in recent weeks.

Whether Chelsea blink and lower their valuation, or hold firm and force City to redirect their search entirely, is now the defining question in one of the summer window’s more intriguing standoffs – one complicated by history between the two clubs, a manager with a vested interest in the outcome, and a price gap that both parties will need to narrow significantly if a deal is to be done.

How City’s ultimatum lands at Stamford Bridge in the coming days will go a long way to determining whether Gusto’s situation at Chelsea changes before the window closes, or whether Viana turns his attention elsewhere in search of the right-back profile Maresca has identified as a priority addition at the Etihad Stadium.