Joe Cole declares ‘love’ for Luis Suarez-like Chelsea teen as Maresca lauds academy trio
Joe Cole reckons Chelsea have a “real gem” in Marc Guiu after the teenager scored his third goal for the club against Astana on Thursday.
The Blues ran out comfortable 3-1 winners in sub-zero temperatures in Kazakhstan as Enzo Maresca fielded a much-changed XI including a number of academy graduates.
Guiu joined Chelsea from Barcelona for £5m in the summer and drove in from the right touchline to open the scoring and was also key to the second goal, putting the pressure on as Astana defender Aleksandr Marochkin diverted the ball into his own net.
Cole was hugely impressed by the 18-year-old’s display, boldly claiming that he sees something of Luis Suarez in him.
Suarez scored 82 goals in 133 games for Liverpool before 198 in 283 for Barcelona, and is considered one of the great strikers of the modern era.
“He must have watched Luis Suarez as a young man at Barcelona,” Cole said of Guiu on TNT Sports.
“He has great movement. He was a thorn in the side throughout the game. I love him.
“He will give you energy and aggression. This kid is 18 and how big and strong he will be when he gets older. Chelsea have a real gem there.”
Chelsea have 15 points from a possible 15 in the Europa Conference League and sit top of the table.
Speaking more generally about Chelsea’s impressive form, Cole added: “I’m happy to go on record to say that there will be a title challenge coming from Chelsea if everything goes well in the next couple of months.
“There aren’t many weaknesses in this team now and it’s credit to Enzo Maresca. Everything is rosy at the moment for them.”
MORE CHELSEA COVERAGE ON F365
👉 Chelsea told to ‘reject chance to sign’ Liverpool star as they are warned over ‘disruption’
👉 England second in UEFA rankings to put them on course for five Champions League spots
👉 Every Premier League club’s worst player in 24/25: Walker, Jesus, Mount, Ferguson…
Chelsea, currently sitting second in the Premier League, are the clear favourites to win the Europa Conference League.
Speaking after his Chelsea team proved too strong for Astana, Maresca picked out three academy graduates for praise.
He said” “It was a solid performance. We knew it was quite cold and we tried to adapt quickly.
“The players did fantastically with the weather conditions, the long journey yesterday, and the pitch was not ideal for us. Overall I’m very happy for the players.
“I’m also happy for the young players who helped us win the game. I was impressed by all of them. The ones who started, Tyrique [George], Sam [Rak-Sakyi] and Josh [Acheampong] all did very good.
“So I’m very happy for them and the ones that came on in the second half – I’m pleased.”
On Guiu, Maresca added: “Marc is doing well. Since we started he has been working hard.
“We have Nicolas Jackson and Christo Nkunku who are doing well, but when he had the chance today, Marc played in the right way.”
