Malo Gusto has opened up on the relationship between himself and Reece James at Chelsea amid the pair's competition for the starting right-back spot at Stamford Bridge.
Due to an injury to James, Gusto was Enzo Maresca's regular starter at right-back for the opening stages of this season.
Though he impressed, he immediately was moved over to left-back when James returned for Chelsea's 2-1 defeat to Liverpool in mid-September.
The switch did not last long, however, with James being dragged off and Gusto shifted back to his natural position after just 53 minutes against the Reds.
Since then, Gusto has held down the starting right-back spot, while James has played at either left-back or not all.
Speaking with Chelsea's official website in an interview published on Tuesday, Gusto insisted the competition between him and his English teammate can only be beneficial for the Blues.
"Reece and I have a great relationship between us," explained the France international, who joined Chelsea from Ligue 1 side Lyon last year.
"As you’ve seen in the last few games, we have both played. So it’s not like it’s either him or me," he said. "We try to push ourselves, do our best, and help the team as much as we can."
The 21-year-old added: "We have a lot of quality and it’s good for the team. We are playing Conference League in the week so it’s good to change and have two great teams. It’s good for Chelsea to have this type of quality."
Gusto on Chelsea's season so far: "A new process"
Now heading into the last of this year's international breaks, Chelsea currently sit third in the Premier League table with 19 points, having won five, drawn four, and lost just two of their 11 games so far.
After as many games under the guidance of Mauricio Pochettino last term, the Blues were 10th on 15 points.
Speaking about Chelsea's improved start to this campaign under Maresca, who replaced Pochettino in the summer, Gusto acknowledged: "To be honest, we didn’t start with this [position] on our mind."
"We have a new manager, a new process, so we just try to make that on the pitch," he said. "After that, we see what happens. We are in third place which is good, and we have to keep [going] to create something as a group."
Chelsea next take on Maresca's former side Leicester City in the Premier League on November 23.
Comments