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Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has hailed Malo Gusto following his series of impressive performances. The France international has been a breath of fresh air in an otherwise forgettable season for the Blues so far.
In his press conference ahead of Chelsea's Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg tie against Middlesbrough on January 9, Pochettino lavished praise on the young full-back. The Argentine manager insisted that he is very happy with how the 20-year-old has adapted to new conditions.
Pochettino also claimed that he is hugely impressed with Gusto's level of maturity despite his young age. The Blues boss insisted that he is happy with how the Frenchman has delivered in the absence of skipper Reece James due to injury.
Pochettino told Football.London:
"It is a player that is so young. Looks more mature than he is. He came from a difficult situation at Lyon and came here to adapt to a new country, new football. He is doing well, I am so happy with him."
The Chelsea boss added:
"Always with a young kid, some mindset is different, we need to agree, time to realise. We talk about young kids also from England, but him that came from France it's to adapt and improve. I am so happy that he can perform when Reece is out. It's a good contribution for the team."
Mauricio Pochettino's side have now won three games on the bounce across competitions and have looked much improved. Gusto started all three of those games, including their last game against Preston North End in the FA Cup third round where he played left-back.
Chelsea's reported £30 million investment in Gusto from Olympique Lyon has proven to be a good one so far. The youngster has featured in 17 games for the side and provided four assists in the process. With Reece James' recurring injury problems, Gusto has been a wonderful deputy.
Journalist remains unimpressed with Chelsea under Mauricio Pochettino
Journalist Julien Laurens has hit out at Mauricio Pochettino for his inability to improve Chelsea this season. He claimed that the Blues haven't improved even a little since Pochettino was brought in at the club in the summer.
Laurens said that Pochettino hasn't been able to get the most out of his full-backs and attacking midfielders. He also claimed that Mykhaylo Mudryk's strengths are not being used while Chelsea have not been able to use the space well. The ESPN pundit said (as quoted by FourFourTwo):
"Nobody can tell me this team is improving! I don’t see any improvement week after week, game after game. But how long? This is January 2024 now; he’s [Pochettino] been here since the 1st of July. I want to see something...The full-backs don’t participate in anything really. Those attacking midfielders don’t do much either."
Laurens added:
"They never used him [Mykhailo Mudryk]; they never used his pace or his skillset and I just don’t understand where they’re going. I don’t see patterns of play; I don’t see finding the third man; I don’t see anyone running into space. I don’t see much really..."
Chelsea appointed Pochettino in the summer after a horrific last season, where they finished 12th in the league running through three different managers. The former Paris Saint-Germain manager spent over £400 million on transfers last summer. However, his side are languishing at 10th in the table and are 12 points off the fourth spot.
