It’s that time of the year where pundits start publishing their teams of the year, and while Chelsea’s dodgy season means there aren’t too many Blues being included, some pundits have certainly spotted some impressive performers.
Rio Ferdinand was one. He chose Malo Gusto for the right back slot in his team of the season, and in his explanation about why he really gushed over the Frenchman and what he had shown in his debut campaign:
“I am going to go with Gusto at Chelsea. I think just for a young kid, how old is he, 20, the way he came out of nowhere and adjusted to the league immediately.
“I think Ben White’s a close second, but I am going to go for him, Gusto, because I think they haven’t missed Reece James this season in that role, no wonder I haven’t seen a lot of people talking about Reece James’ absence, and that tells you he must be playing well.”
A transfer that went right
Signing Gusto proved to be a brilliant move by Chelsea, who finally accepted that Reece James was always going to suffer with injuries and that they needed top class cover to regularly play. This season Gusto ended up being vitally important to the team, and after 6 months where he was settling in, looking like one of the best players in his position in the league.
As Rio points out, it’s easy to forget how young he is – he played like someone many years older, and it’s truly impressive how quickly he was able to find his feet in the Premier League. Now James is back the competition can truly begin, and both should hopefully benefit from the fact that the other is there to compete for minutes, but also to give them regular rests.
