Rory Smith explains why Barcelona let Marc Guiu join Chelsea - 'He's not a Gavi, or a Pedri, or a Lamine Yamal'
Published 20/12/2024 at 08:29 GMT
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Marc Guiu was the star of the show for Chelsea as they continued their 100% record in the UEFA Europa Conference League with a 5-1 win over Shamrock Rovers at Stamford Bridge. His clinical display of finishing led to questions about Barcelona's decision to sell the youngster last summer, and TNT Sports expert Rory Smith gave his verdict on the matter.
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TNT Sports expert Rory Smith suggested Barcelona's decision to let Marc Guiu join Chelsea last summer was an oversight on the part of the Catalan club.
The 18-year-old, who moved to Chelsea for just ÂŁ5 million in July, scored a superb hat-trick in his side's 5-1 UEFA Europa Conference League win over Shamrock Rovers, as the west London outfit continued their perfect record in the competition.
While his game time has been limited so far this season, the teenager appears to be an exciting prospect, and Smith claimed Barcelona might have been unaware of his true quality.
"He was very cheap for a 17-year-old kid who scored within 27 seconds of his Barcelona debut, which feels like a good start to your career," journalist Smith said of Guiu, who netted on his La Liga bow against Athletic Club in October last year.
"Barca's issue was that they didn't renew his contract quickly enough. They had a ÂŁ5m buyout in his initial contract that he had coming from the youth team.
"I'm not sure they knew what they had; he's not a typical Barcelona youth product, he's not a Gavi, or a Pedri, or a Lamine Yamal, who he was in the same Spanish Under-17 team as.
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Guiu bags first-half hat-trick with 'proper centre-forward's header'
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"He's a penalty-box player. All three of those goals tonight are the sort of goals he's scored throughout his career, they're poacher's goals. That's what he is: a poacher.
"I'm not sure Barca knew how to value that. They sort of delayed on the contract, and Chelsea came in and, I suspect, offered him a pay rise."
Barcelona's financial issues in recent years have been well-documented, though Smith added that Guiu's departure was likely not a result of the club's need to raise funds.
"He wasn't especially valuable," Smith said. "With Barcelona's finances, every little helps, but I don't think it was that they thought 'we'll sell him so we don't have to sell Yamal'. Yamal's a €100m player.
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"It was just that he wasn't a priority to them. He spotted the chance to go to Chelsea and maybe go up in status."
Guiu has made a promising start to his Blues career, netting six goals in six Conference League appearances and scoring at a rate of 47.3 minutes per goal.
The teenager's next target will likely be to feature more regularly in the Premier League, where he has made just one substitute appearance so far.
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca had a word of advice for the striker after his glut of goals against Shamrock Rovers.
"Marc is a bit unlucky because Nicolas [Jackson] is doing well," the Italian told TNT Sports. "For a No. 9, when another No. 9 is doing well and scoring goals, it's a matter of being patient."
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Highlights: Chelsea hit Shamrock Rovers for five to remain perfect
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