Why Chelsea want the ‘unstoppable’ Barcelona striker and everything you need to know about him
Chelsea are about to sign Marc Guiu from Barcelona – but why did they decide to trigger the £5.1million release clause in his contract?
The Blues reportedly fought off competition from Bayern Munich to sign the 18-year-old and they plan to incorporate him into the first-team squad.
He will be the latest highly-rated young talent to arrive at Stamford Bridge, following in the footsteps of Andrey Santos, Kendry Paez, Deivid Washington and Estevao Willian.
Here’s everything you need to know about the striker and why he appeals to Chelsea.
His career so far
Born in the Catalan city of Granollers in January 2006, Guiu started his career at Saint Celoni Barca – a Barcelona fan club – and then joined Barcelona’s academy at the age of seven.
He worked his way through the youth ranks and registered six goals and four assists in 17 appearances for the club’s B team, which play in Spain’s third tier.
The striker made his first-team debut in October 2023 and made an immediate impact against Athletic Bilbao, scoring the winning goal just 33 seconds after coming off the bench.
His goal made him Barcelona’s youngest-ever player to score on debut, at the age of 17 years and 291 days.
Guiu made another six senior appearances in the 2023/24 season and scored his first Champions League goal in a 3-2 defeat against Royal Antwerp.
The 18-year-old has also impressed on the international stage, scoring four goals for Spain at the Under-17 Euros in the summer of 2023.
He was the joint-top goalscorer at the tournament, alongside teammate Lamine Jamal and German duo Robert Ramsak and Paris Brunner.
Guiu then registered two goals and one assist at the 2023 Under-17 World Cup before Spain lost 1-0 against Germany in the quarter-finals.
Having scored 10 goals in 17 appearances in all competitions at Under-17 level, he was promoted to Spain’s Under-19s in March 2024.
WHAT A MOMENT! 😱😱
Just seconds after coming on for his first action as a Barcelona senior player, Marc Guiu scores what could well be a late winner! 🔵🔴 pic.twitter.com/qWX0gFTJhI
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) October 22, 2023
Strengths and style of play
Standing at 6ft 1in, Guiu already has a physical presence and he doesn’t fit the familiar mould of a Barcelona academy graduate.
The 18-year-old is a more traditional number nine as he likes to play on the shoulder of the last defender rather than dropping deep to link up with the midfielders.
Despite his tender age, he has already showcased a remarkable poacher’s instinct inside the penalty area and has been compared to current Barcelona teammate Robert Lewandowski.
The right-footed striker is also renowned for his speed, off-the-ball movement, power and aerial ability, making him a handful for defences.
But he’s not a selfish player who puts himself before the team as his coaches have praised his work rate and willingness to press off the ball.
Unsurprisingly, the teenager is far from the finished article and still needs to improve his all-round game and link-up play.
What he’s said
– “I can’t believe it, I’m out of breath. I’m enjoying the moment,” Guiu said after his debut goal. “I’ve been working my whole life for this opportunity and it turned out perfect.”
He added: “I saw that Joao Felix controlled it alone, and there was a lot of space behind the centre-backs. He gave it to me with the quality he has, and facing Unai Simon it became a reality. It was a very quick move, I hardly thought about it, it was all intuition.”
-“I don’t really think that it’s changed that much in my life,” he said when reflecting on his rise into the Barcelona first team. “I’m still living a normal life and I think that I’m making a decent job of it.
“I’m still adapting to my environment, which is a good thing, so that’s basically how it is.”
– “I’m just a player like the rest of them, I work as hard as the others and I’m really no different,” he said during the Under-17 World Cup. “I try to bring a happy vibe and be a good team-mate.”
Marc Guiu scored 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 for Barça B.
🤯📐
(via @FCBarcelona_cat)pic.twitter.com/tHyAs20knz
— B/R Football (@brfootball) February 19, 2024
What they’ve said about him
– “Marc, a kid from La Masia, makes the difference for us,” Xavi said after Guiu’s debut. “I’m happy for him and for the three points, which are very important.
“I’ve thought about him because he’s got a goal, a spark, and I like him personally. I have no problem looking to the academy, quite the opposite actually. I give the confidence that I was given by Barcelona when I was 17-18 years old.”
He continued: “Guiu’s face on the bench didn’t look scared. He was looking at me with the ‘coach, put me on!’ face. I saw that he was ready and I subbed him in. You can tell that he can score goals, and everything went well. I’m so happy.”
– “I was very happy for Marc, he deserves it because he is a ten as a person,” former Barcelona coach Ivan Carrasco said. “He’s a sensational boy, a hard worker, an example as a team-mate for his effort and dedication.
“He is a pure centre forward, a classic ‘9’, a specialist in the area who lives from his physical power. His best virtue is his aerial play. Marc is also very quick and powerful, he is unstoppable with space.
“He is not a striker who can drop to the flanks or stands out for his combination play but he is aware of his strengths and limitations and knows how to focus on his strengths and hide his flaws.
“Another of his virtues is his great ability to fight for every ball and press like an animal, defenders are not comfortable with such a hard-working striker profile.”
– “He’s still the same kid he’s always been – everything that’s happened has had no effect on him whatsoever,” Spain Under-17 coach Jose Lana said.
“He’s still very polite, a hard worker, very respectful both of the coaching staff and his team-mates. He’s great to work with. He can create chances and score goals out of nowhere, and that’s such an important part of football.”
– “He is not a player with unbelievable dribbling skills but he is a finisher who can run from deep,” former La Masia coach Albert Capellas said.
“He is fast, powerful, very good at heading, very competitive. He is exceptional in his position and has the right mentality, a fantastic boy.”
– [He] is known as a striker who is more efficient in the box,” Spanish football expert Guillem Balague said. “He doesn’t link up greatly but he has something; he finishes very well.”
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