Malo Gusto reveals he was warned by Chelsea that their ‘long-term project could take time to get going’ before completing his £26m move from Lyon in January

• Gusto has made five starts for Chelsea this season with Reece James sidelined 
• The 20-year-old has missed the Blues’ last two league games due to suspension
• Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast ‘ It’s All Kicking Off! ‘

Chelsea warned Malo Gusto that their ‘long-term’ project could take time to get going before completing his signing in the midst of their miserable campaign. 

The right-back was a January recruit from his boyhood club Lyon but was loaned back to the French side for the remainder of the season. 

Gusto unfortunately suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out for most of the latter half of the season while Chelsea limped to a disastrous 12th place finish.

Shocking as it was to see the Premier League giants end a campaign so far down the standings, the 20-year-old revealed that he was not suprised and was in fact warned that the club were undergoing a long-term project upon his signing. 

But he remained confident the current squad has the ability to get Chelsea back to winning ways. 

Malo Gusto has recorded two assists in five league starts for Chelsea but saw red against Villa

Chelsea have invested big money in highly touted youngster since Todd Boehly took over

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Gusto has earned his first call-up to the France squad after injury to Jules Kounde

‘Before signing for a big club like Chelsea, you think and inform yourself of the situation.’ He told RMC Sport. ‘I wasn’t necessarily surprised, the management told me that it was a long-term project that could take time to get going.

‘Little by little, with the team, we are trying to create a real group that will move forward together to put Chelsea back to where it should be and win everything.’ 

Thanks to the injury to skipper Reece James, Gusto has made five starts for Mauricio Pochettino’s side this term. Though a red card in the Blues’ 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa last month has kept him out of the last two matchdays squads. 

The youngster showed positive signs beforehand by recording two assists in the league and has recieved his first call-up to the France squad following the injury to Barcelona star Jules Kounde. 

After a very slow start Chelsea appear to have found their feet and won back-to-back league games for the first time this season with an impressive 4-1 triumph at Burnley. 

Pochettino will also be looking forward to welcoming back some of the stars on the club’s extensive treatment table such as James, Benoit Badiashile and Trevoh Chalobah, who are all in line to return after the international break.

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