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Chelsea transfer news: Napoli are considering a move for Chelsea forward Marc Guiu, according to a report from West London Sport, which cited the original source as Sky in Italy. The 20-year-old Spanish centre-forward has become the latest Premier League player linked with a switch to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Chelsea transfer news surrounding the club’s fringe attackers has been relentless this summer. Napoli are understood to be planning a significant attacking overhaul before the window shuts, and Guiu fits their shortlist. The Italian club have also been connected with Nicolas Jackson, Guiu’s Chelsea teammate, pointing to a broader interest in raiding Stamford Bridge for firepower.
Guiu arrived at Chelsea from Barcelona in the summer of 2024 after the club triggered his release clause. First-team minutes, though, were always hard to come by. This past season, he split time between a loan stint at Sunderland and a peripheral squad role in West London, scraping together just 14 appearances, two goals, and one assist across all competitions.
Chelsea transfer news: Why Guiu has no future under Xabi Alonso
Brutal as it sounds, Marc Guiu has no realistic path into Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea setup. None. Alonso left him out of the matchday squad entirely for Chelsea’s opening Premier League fixture against Fulham, and that wasn’t rotation. That was a message. The new manager runs a fluid 3-4-2-1 built on a technically demanding focal point who drops into half-spaces, links short combinations with inverted midfielders, and stays heavily involved in possession sequences.
Guiu completed just 19 passes across eight Premier League appearances last season. For a lone striker in a possession-heavy system, that number is damning. He’s an old-school penalty-box predator, good in the air, strong in channels, sharp in reactive situations. Those are real qualities. They just don’t translate into what Alonso demands from his striker.
Chelsea transfer news: Where Guiu goes from here
Chelsea want €165 million from offloading their surplus strikers, with Guiu, Jackson, and Liam Delap all listed as available. Manchester City have also been credited with interest, reportedly viewing him as a low-cost domestic backup after Omar Marmoush’s departure.
Read: Spurs eye Chelsea’s £88.5m flop on £100k-a-week wages as shock deadline-day backup emerges
Napoli, though, offer him something City probably can’t, and that is a starting role and a system that could actually suit a traditional number nine. Pushing Guiu into an Alonso-style technical ecosystem would stunt him. A move to Naples could be the reset that genuinely resurrects his career.