Jackson and Nkunku react to Malo Gusto message amid Chelsea exit links
Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku have reacted to a new message from Chelsea teammate Malo Gusto amid talk of him being set to leave Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have progressed from their group at the Club World Cup after a successful season in which they won the Conference League and achieved Champions League qualification.
Gusto was a key player under Enzo Maresca throughout the majority of the campaign, with two assists from 42 appearances in all competitions.
The 22-year-old has played in all three of the Blues’ CWC matches so far, with a start in their final group game against ES Tunis on Wednesday (25 June) as Maresca’s side ran out 3-0 winners in Philadelphia.
Despite impressing at times last term, Gusto put in a poor performance in Chelsea’s Conference League final win over Real Betis, and exit rumours have circled this summer after he was dropped from the starting eleven towards the end of the campaign.
Jackson and Nkunku react as Gusto pens Chelsea message
Former scout Mick Brown revealed to Football Insider ahead of the recent January window that Liverpool were eyeing up a move for Gusto at the end of the season, and exit rumours have continued into the summer with German outlet Bild recently reporting that Bayern Munich are after the 22-year-old.
The right-back remains a Chelsea player for now, however, and he has taken to Instagram to pen a message to Blues supporters in the aftermath of their win against ES Tunis, saying: “Group Stage…On to the next one.”
His post was reacted to by a number of his Chelsea teammates, with Stamford Bridge exit-linked Nicolas Jackson and Newcastle target Christopher Nkunku both liking the message, with Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella and Tosin Adarabioyo among those that followed suit, while Pedro Neto commented, saying: “Malooo” with a heart-eyes and praying emoji.
Chelsea should keep Gusto, not bolster a European rival like Bayern
Football Insider verdict
Chelsea’s transfer activity is showing no signs of slowing down this summer, with Liam Delap, Dario Essugo and Geovany Quenda all already signed, while Estevao will also join their squad from Palmeiras ahead of the new season.
Gusto has mostly been a solid performer for the West London outfit since his move from Lyon in January 2023, and his playing-time has probably been more than initially expected, given Reece James‘ constant injury issues.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 81 | 11 | 11 |
James has returned to full fitness in recent months, though, and looks to be back to playing regularly, yet Gusto is likely to still be content at a back-up role in Maresca’s squad, given their Champions League qualification and the England international’s potential to play in midfield more often going forward.
With that said, Chelsea must not look to sell Gusto anytime soon, given his ability and potential to be one of the best in his position, and it would especially not make sense to sell him to Bayern, who are a direct rival on the European stage with both teams competing for the continents top prizes.