PSG's Summer Challenge: Defeat to Mallorca and Pursuit of Malo Gusto

Sixty-seven days after lifting the Champions League for the second time in their history, Paris Saint-Germain were dragged back to earth with a thud. Their first outing of the new campaign ended in a 3-0 defeat to Real Mallorca, a side freshly relegated to Spain’s second division.

Yes, it was a heavily depleted PSG, stripped of a large portion of their internationals. Yes, it was a first friendly. But a European champion losing heavily to a second-tier team still makes noise. Inside the club, that noise only amplifies an existing urgency: the squad is not finished.

Transfers Everywhere, Certainties Nowhere

PSG’s recruitment drive is already in full swing. Lucas Digne and Magnes Akliouche are both hovering on the threshold of the Parc des Princes, their arrivals expected but still not officially sealed. The club’s hierarchy continues to push through the final details, determined to reinforce before the real football starts.

The goalkeeper position is under review as well. Zion Suzuki of Parma and Ajax’s Mika Godts are both on the radar, though neither deal looks straightforward. Talks continue, slowly, stubbornly, in the background.

And then came the twist from England.

Malo Gusto Enters the Frame

According to English outlet The Sun, PSG have set their sights on another Frenchman: Chelsea right-back Malo Gusto.

At 23, the Décines-Charpieu native has already lived a quick rise. Formed at Olympique Lyonnais, he made the jump to Chelsea in 2023 for 35 million euros, a move that underlined his status as one of Europe’s most promising attacking full-backs.

He justified that billing last season. Gusto played 49 matches in all competitions for Chelsea, scoring 3 goals and delivering 5 assists. His progress took him all the way to the France squad for the 2026 World Cup, a powerful endorsement of his development and temperament.

Those numbers, that profile, inevitably attract suitors.

A Crowded Market at Right-Back

Manchester City, also hunting a right-back this summer, had Gusto on their shortlist. Chelsea, for their part, have not closed the door on a sale.

The obstacle is obvious: money.

Gusto is valued at 87 million euros. For a right-back, even a dynamic, modern one with elite upside, that is a towering fee. PSG, already active on several fronts, would have to decide whether such an outlay on a non-priority position makes sense in this window.

That is precisely what, according to The Sun, they are doing now. PSG are studying the feasibility and the logic of a move, weighing his qualities against the cost and the balance of their squad.

Luis Enrique’s Alternative to Hakimi

Luis Enrique’s approval is already there, the report claims. The Spanish coach is said to like Gusto’s attributes and sees him as a genuine alternative to Achraf Hakimi on the right flank.

That is significant. Hakimi remains one of PSG’s key players, but every long season exposes the need for depth and rotation. Gusto brings pace, aggression, and end product, with the added benefit of being French and already adapted to top-level European football.

Yet this was never supposed to be a central theme of PSG’s summer.

Warren Zaïre-Emery’s performances as an emergency right-sided option last season impressed the staff and eased some of the pressure to recruit in that area. His emergence shifted priorities elsewhere. The Gusto idea feels more like an opportunity being tested than a long-planned cornerstone of the project.

Chelsea Ready, PSG Hesitant

One thing is clear: Chelsea are open to a deal. The London club have already brought in Marco Balestra, another piece in their ever-rotating squad puzzle, which only strengthens the possibility of Gusto leaving.

In France, though, the story has not been confirmed. No green light from Paris, no firm move on the table, just a live file on the recruitment desk at a club that suddenly looks a little more vulnerable after a 3-0 defeat to a second-division opponent.

PSG know what Gusto would cost. They know what he would bring. Between those two truths lies the real question of their summer: how far are the European champions willing to go, and how much are they ready to pay, to turn a position of comfort into one of overwhelming strength?