Chelsea: the Marc Guiu enigma

FC Barcelona still has it bad. One of the symbols of his training, Marc Guiu, preferred to leave the club last summer to settle in the ultra-competitive Chelsea squad. Worse still, the English only paid €6 million, the amount of the striker’s release clause to afford his services, who was then under contract until 2025. A ridiculous amount favored by a lack of rigor on the part of the Catalans, who failed to extend their former player in time and at the same time increase his release clause.

However, the future of the Spanish U19 international looked bright in Barcelona. The world found out in October 2023 when he scored the only goal of his team’s match against Athletic Bilbao just 30 seconds after his professional debut. The striker with an atypical profile for a player trained at La Masia – 1.87m and 83kg – then became at 17 years and 291 days the youngest player to score for Barça in La Liga in the 21st century. He then came out of a good U17 Euro during which he struck 4 times, eliminated in the semi-final by France (3-1), despite a goal from a certain Lamine Yamal.

A surprising departure from Barça to Chelsea

Two months after his glorious debut among the pros, he was back in the Champions League, this time against Royal Antwerp. The rest was more delicate for him, especially after the arrival of Vitor Roque in January. His contractual situation didn’t help his case either. During the second half of the season, he spent the majority of his time between the first team benches (7 appearances in total, two goals) and reserve team matches. His decision is made, Guiu goes to Chelsea where the competition is insane, especially for a young player looking for playing time.

“ The club has a very interesting plan with a lot of exciting young players and I think we can do big things. I think it’s a very talented team, full of top players who are very young, who have a lot of quality and who have a lot to offer » he said when signing. The Spaniard is part of his new club’s plans, even if there was talk of a loan for a while, but Enzo Maresca, who is spoiled for choice, is not really counting on him. The now 18-year-old player is quickly overtaken in the hierarchy by Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku, who are also more experienced and more expensive.

No Premier League appearances since August 18

His coach’s 4-2-3-1 system doesn’t make his task easier either, where his direct and indirect competitors offer more versatility. After 23 minutes of play during the first day of the Premier League (2-0 defeat against Manchester City), the rookie completely disappeared, first from the starting eleven, then completely from the match sheets. Fortunately, he can make up for it with the League Cup (14 minutes) and the Europa Conference League. But on the continental scene, things are not going very well either, like the double confrontation against Servette de Genève during the play-off round.

Starting both the first leg and the second leg, the striker foiled and even missed a mind-blowing situation at Stamford Bridge. “ I just told him he didn’t like easy goalstried to reassure Maresca after the match. He’s a 2006, he’s the youngest on the squad, but the way he works and runs… this failure doesn’t matter. He will score, that’s for sure. » He still has to play, he who has accumulated 168 minutes and five appearances. “ Since the start of the season, we have used Nicolas (Jackson) up front. His style responds perfectly to our way of playing. But that doesn’t mean that we won’t use Marc (Guiu) or Christopher (Nkunku) at number 9. We can always change. It will depend on the matches » continued Maresca, later in September.

Laporta: “ there is no other place like Barça »

The Frenchman is also short of time, but he has extenuating circumstances. The former Parisian is coming out of an almost blank season, having already experienced physical problems during his end of adventure in Leipzig. He is the first name coming off the bench and is gradually taking over where Guiu will have to work harder to try to overthrow the hierarchy. As a result, Joan Laporta took his revenge this week. “ Chelsea came in and paid Marc Guiu’s clause. For all players who want to leave Barça, the doors are open. But there is no other place like Barça. They will realize it later. »