Chelsea are closing in on the signing of Marc Guiu, the 18 year old Barcelona striker who burst onto the scene last year with a goal on his debut for the Blaugrana.
The Blues have activated his €6m release clause we’re now down to what seems to be the final stages of agreeing a contract with the forward.
Football Espana today report an interesting wrinkle in the move – apparently Guiu will join Sevilla on loan directly after completing the move.
This is rather surprising news – we’d heard some rumours that a loan was possible, but initially it seemed Guiu was coming directly to the first team squad.
We can see the appeal of a loan – he will get more minutes in Sevilla than at Chelsea, and doesn’t have to leave his home country while he’s still so young.
But it does blow up the idea that he’s going to come in as the third choice striker behind Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku, and makes it clear that his role is to be another one of the talents farmed out for profit.
A risky move for a player at a crucial stage of development
It also sounds like a risky choice of move – Sevilla have spent the last few years really struggling in La Liga, and relegation is a constant threat. Chucking an 18 year old with almost no top flight experience there could end up hurting him more than helping him.
The upside – and potentially the connection that’s created this story, is that former Barca B coach Garcia Pimienta is now the coach there, and he knows Guiu well from their time together in the second tier. Still, for all their mutual appreciation, it’s hard to imagine Pimienta is going to be regularly starting a teenager if his team is once again stuck near the bottom of the table.
