Chelsea wonderkid is 'the new Luis Suarez' - Joe Cole

Cameron Smith

• 13 Dec 2024 11:15 CST
• 3 min read

Chelsea legend Joe Cole has compared summer signing Marc Guiu to former Liverpool and Barcelona superstar Luis Suarez following his brace against Astana in the Europa Conference League.

Guiu left Barcelona to join Chelsea for €6 million in July, but he has been restricted to appearances in cup competitions due to the presence of both Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku.

The Spain U19 international has only made one Premier League appearance since his summer move to Stamford Bridge, while he has been excluded from the Blues’ matchday squad in each of their last 11 English top flight fixtures.

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However, Guiu has featured in all five of Chelsea’s European matches so far this campaign and he scored twice during their 3-1 win over Astana on Thursday.

The 18-year-old opened the scoring with an eye-catching solo goal, before doubling Chelsea’s lead from close range following impressive work from Pedro Neto.

Nicolas Jackson has been continuously praised by Enzo Maresca since the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign, while Nkunku has deputised immensely over the past few months, but Cole believes that Guiu could become a key player for Chelsea in the future.

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What has Joe Cole said about Marc Guiu?

“He [Guiu] must have watched Luis Suarez as a young man at Barcelona,” Cole told TNT Sports following Chelsea’s win over Astana on Thursday.

“He has great movement. He was a thorn in the side throughout the game. I love him.

Current ETV

Marc Guiu

F (C)

Chelsea

Marc Guiu

F (C)

Chelsea

€3.9M

ETV Range

€2.9M - €4.9M

View full profile

“He will give you energy and aggression. This kid is 18 [years old] and how big and strong he will be when he gets older. Chelsea have a real gem there.”

Guiu scored two goals in seven first-team appearances for boyhood club Barcelona, but he made the surprise decision to leave Camp Nou in search of more regular senior football at Chelsea.