Chelsea’s January Marc Guiu transfer plan revealed
Chelsea’s January plans for Marc Guiu have been revealed as he aims to get into their team under Enzo Maresca following his recall from a loan at Sunderland.
Marc Guiu joined Chelsea from Barcelona last year after they activated a €6million (£5.2m) release clause in his contract and tied him down to a six-year deal at Stamford Bridge.
He netted six times in 16 appearances last season, but with a lack of regular game-time likely this term after Chelsea brought in Liam Delap from Ipswich Town and signed Joao Pedro from Brighton, Guiu was allowed to join Sunderland on loan last month.
The Black Cats welcomed him in as they prepared for their Premier League return, but not for long as Guiu was recalled by Chelsea just weeks after he left following Liam Delap’s injury and Nicolas Jackson’s own loan exit to Bayern Munich.
Guiu is yet to feature for the Blues since he returned, and will not be allowed out on loan if he does play between now and January, with a new development now emerging on what the future holds for him this season.
Guiu will not be going out on loan in January
Chelsea’s Daily Mail reporter Kieran Gill told Football Insider on Tuesday (7 October) that Enzo Maresca does not trust Guiu as his starting striker following his failure to play over the last few months.
Despite his recent snubs, Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol has revealed on X (7 October) that Guiu will be staying at Chelsea for the whole season after his loan to Sunderland was cancelled at the end of the summer window.
That means that the 19-year-old must surely be in line to feature for the Blues at some point, but time is running out for him to play regularly with Pedro and Tyrique George ahead of him in the pecking order and Delap on his way back from injury.
Enzo Maresca has insisted that Guiu will get minutes at Chelsea
Guiu was a part of Chelsea’s Club World Cup-winning squad, which speaks to how highly-rated he is at the club, but he made just two appearances in their triumph, twice coming off the bench in group games.
The fact that he was allowed to join Sunderland a good few weeks ahead of the deadline shows that he was never truly meant to be part of Maresca’s set-up this season, and his inclusion has only come about due to Delap’s injury.
Previous reports have suggested that he would be allowed out on loan, but that clearly seems unlikely now, and Maresca insisted that he will be getting game-time soon ahead of Chelsea’s recent game against Liverpool.
He said: “He’s going to get minutes with us, no doubt. And also for me, the development of a young player is not just about the game when you are so young.
“It’s also about the training session and the day-by-day. And I think it’s important that he’s with us and he’s working with us.”
The Spaniard will need to be given sufficient minutes soon, as right now it looks as if he will be consigned to a season of limbo on the fringes of the Blues’ first-team without being able to go out on loan and develop in January.