French young player Malo Gusto had to leave the U23 training camp due to illness. The 20-year old midfielder was feeling unwell and will return to his club Chelsea for a further assessment. The Lyon-born youngster will miss the friendlies against Ivory Coast and United States.
France U23 are scheduled to face Ivory Coast on Friday evening. Three days later, they will face one of the rising young national teams in the world, USMNT.
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Malo Gusto faces Deja Vu moment with France team
It is not the first time Gusto left the national camp due to fitness issues. Earlier in October, he was pulled out of the squad in preparation for the 2025 Euro U21 qualifying. This such a huge loss for Les Bleus since Gusto has started to gain playing time in Chelesea’s senior team with 20 league appearances so far.
Chelsea gaffer Mauricio Pochettino admitted Gusto’s promising future at the club. However, the former Southampton boss demands patience from the fans over the young player.
“The plan for Malo Gusto was that of a 19-year-old player who had come from another league, France, and there were circumstances where a young kid needed time,” he said when asked about Gusto’s development.
Malo Gusto thanked Mauricio Pochettino for his progress
The player himself believes that he was on the right track as a developing young player thanks to Pochettino’s decision to give him more playing time. The Lyon youth graduate said that he earned a lot of lessons from Poch, adding that the Argentinian is good at boosting morale.
“He (Pochettino) helps us a lot,” Gusto said when asked about his manager. “He has tried to show us the desire to win and to keep fighting against every team. He talks to us a lot about tactics and techniques. He is a good person as well. He tries to help us a lot, on and off the pitch. He is a good coach for this young team.
“That’s (the organising of bonding events at the training ground) what he has tried to do to get everyone all together. The most important thing during this new project is: to help each other and stay all together. If we do that, we can win more.”
Apart from 20 league games he already earned with Chelsea up to this point, Gusto also played nine other games in cup competitions. Four at the FA Cup so far with The Blues proceeding to the semifinal, and five in the Carabao Cup where helped take the team to the final.