William Gallas names Chelsea player with the qualities of becoming ‘full package if he improves’ 

William Gallas names Chelsea player with the qualities of becoming ‘full package if he improves’

William Gallas believes Malo Gusto could be the ‘full package’ but insists the Chelsea full-back still has to improve his defensive positioning to become a complete player.

Gusto was signed for £26.3million in January last year from French club Lyon but joined up with Chelsea over the summer.

An injury-ravaged season by club captain Reece James has afforded the fellow right-back plenty of game time in his maiden campaign.

Despite a largely disappointing season from Mauricio Pochettino’s side, Gusto has stood out as one of the team’s bright sparks – along with summer signing Cole Palmer – and his displays have earned the praise of former Blues centre-back Gallas.

‘I like Malo Gusto because he likes to give everything on the pitch and he’s a defender who likes to attack,’ he told Gambling Zone.

However, the 46-year-old was keen to pinpoint the one area that his fellow countryman must improve on if he is to continue his development at Stamford Bridge.

‘First of all, he is a defender, so he still has to correct some mistakes when he’s had to defend,’ Gallas explained.

‌‘He looks like he’s the same profile as James, even though James is stronger. They are a little bit similar, because when they attack they like to be an asset, but they still make mistakes with positioning when defending.

‘Gusto is very good and he could be the full package if he improves on the defensive side.’

Illness saw the 20-year-old miss Chelsea’s weekend fixture against Sheffield United as the Blues slipped to another disappointing late draw.

The result has only intensified pressure on Pochettino who claimed after the result that he may need as many as five years to fix his side’s issues.

‘It is a new team with profiles in the squad that we are learning,’ he said. ‘The combination sometimes, that is why the process always takes time. It’s not a magic thing. It’s a project, a three or five-year process to build a team.’