Man Utd look to hijack Chelsea bid for Lyon youngster

Karan Tejwani

• 24 Jan 2023 10:45 GMT
• 2 min read

Manchester United are looking to hijack Chelsea’s bid for Lyon right-back Malo Gusto as interest in the player is starting to rise in recent weeks.

Gusto broke into the Lyon team this season and has become a permanent fixture for the side, attracting interest from across Europe with his impressive performances.

The 19-year-old prospect has caught the eye of many including the French national set-up and he is expected to have a bright future in the game.

READ: Malo Gusto: Why Chelsea target would be perfect Graham Potter signing

However, Manchester United are now looking to enter the race for him and want to tempt him away from a move to Chelsea in the winter.

Man Utd look to hijack Chelsea bid

Chelsea are looking to improve their options at right-back following an injury suffered by Reece James that will keep him out of action for a significant portion of the remainder of the season.

The Blues have had a problem in that position for a while and manager Graham Potter is keen to fix that in the transfer window, with the club already having spent big in the winter.

READ: Exclusive: Chelsea's Gusto interest could snowball as Man City and Spurs keep tabs

They’ve completed the signings of Mykhaylo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile and Noni Madueke and are open to signing more players in January with a week remaining in the window.

Manchester United, too, are looking to improve in the same position with Diogo Dalot suffering from injury problems in recent weeks following his return from World Cup action.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka has deputized for the Portuguese since domestic football resumed and has done well, establishing a future for himself until at least the end of the season.

However, Erik ten Hag does want a player with more attacking prowess and for that reason, Gusto may be brought in from Lyon to take up a position in the team.

With just a week remaining in the window, the Red Devils will have to move fast if they want to get Gusto from under Chelsea’s noses or risk seeing him go to Stamford Bridge.