Ten months have passed since Marc Guiu last started a competitive match for Chelsea, but Wednesday evening seems as clear an opportunity as any for the wait to end for the Spaniard.

At just 19 years old, the striker is very highly rated at Stamford Bridge. The plan for this season initially was for Guiu to get first-team experience elsewhere in the Premier League, with Sunderland signing him on a loan deal in the summer transfer window. There were talks over including a clause for Guiu to eventually move to the Stadium of Light on a permanent basis but Chelsea were not interested, with the club rating him very highly, football.london understands.

Guiu, signed from Barcelona in the summer of 2024 for as little as £5million, featured three times for the Black Cats and scored in his only start for the club - a penalty shootout defeat to Huddersfield Town in the Carabao Cup. Chelsea allowing Guiu to leave, and later Nicolas Jackson, left the Blues quite short in the striker department.

When Liam Delap...