Chelsea are believed to be close to sealing their first major acquisition of the summer in the form of a proven Premier League striker. The Blues are making significant progress toward signing Liam Delap from Ipswich Town, now that his relegation release clause of £30m has been activated. The deal is believed to be only a matter of time.
This might leave Ipswich Town seeking a striker to fill the void left behind by Delap. Although the club will have enough funds to bring in a replacement for the Englishman.
There has now been a development regarding Ipswich Town's replacement search. According to The Guardian, the club have signalled a desire to take Marc Guiu on loan during their talks with Chelsea.
Any move for Guiu is going to be unrelated to the Delap deal. It would be a separate agreement that will not require club-to-club negotiations, as Chelsea is willing to activate the £30 million release clause.
Ipswich Town want to sign Chelsea player after Liam Delap deal
Guiu is a La Masia graduate who scored 2 goals in 7 senior appearances for the Spanish club in 23/24. The striker was signed from Barcelona by Chelsea for a £6 million fee last summer.
The Spaniard has made 14 appearances, playing 580 minutes, for Enzo Maresca's team since joining Chelsea last summer, missing a large portion of the season due to injury. He scored 6 goals in 7 games in the Europa Conference League, including a hat-trick against Shamrock Rovers. He was brought on late in the final against Real Betis.
However, the report states that the 19-year-old has yet to be convinced of a move to Ipswich Town. The club have been relegated back to the Championship after finishing 19th in the Premier League.
Will Guiu choose to play in the second tier of English football after making 21 appearances for Barcelona and Chelsea early in his career? A loan spell could serve him well but top-level clubs might be willing to sign him as well. So, it might worth waiting and assessing the options before making a move.