Via Foot Mercato, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid are circling around 19-year-old Olympique Lyonnais right-back Malo Gusto, who is currently rated €15m on Transfermarkt. Real Madrid is looking for a long-term successor to Dani Carvajal, while Bayern Munich may be about to lose Benjamin Pavard in the summer transfer window.
If you’re looking for a reason to get excited about this, consider Madrid’s track record:
The objective is clear: to recruit the best young people before they join other big European teams and are therefore too difficult and expensive to recruit.
It’s yielded fruit through the likes of Eduardo Camavinga, Vinicius Junior, and Fede Valverde — though to be sure, they weren’t all that you might consider “cheap.” Bayern, likewise, has flexed their financial muscle to secure the services of young talent they really believe in — like this summer’s splash signing of Mathys Tel for upwards of €20m.
Each party’s interest complicates the other’s substantially. If the aim was to swoop in on the cheap, they can now expect a bidding war against a club with considerable pull.
Caught in the middle? Lyon, languishing now in 8th place in France’s Ligue 1. Gusto made 30 appearances in the league for them last season and has started fourteen out of the club’s fifteen matches this year. With a contract expiring in 2024 — like Pavard’s — the possibility of a big move draws ever closer.
One potential downside for Bayern: Lyon reportedly enjoys a fine relationship with Real, which could facilitate a deal. Last summer, per the report, FC Barcelona and Manchester United had interest but “knew what to expect” given this relationship.
Bayern is in a delicate position as well. Move too early, and they risk alienating a core player who may still decide to stick it out here. Move too late, and they may be left scrambling for reinforcement options behind Noussair Mazraoui. A good full-back isn’t the easiest thing to find. That said, Real Madrid still does have the GOAT on their roster…
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