Chelsea’s Enzo Maresca raised training concerns with Marc Guiu: ‘He changed and he got the chance’

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Enzo Maresca has revealed he told striker Marc Guiu earlier this month he was not training well enough to play games for Chelsea.

The Athletic reported this week that Guiu met with Maresca after training ahead of the Liverpool game on October 4 to ask why he was not getting any minutes.

The 19-year-old centre-forward was recalled from a season-long loan at Sunderland, who Chelsea face on Saturday, at the end of the summer transfer window. The decision was taken to help fill the void left by Liam Delap’s hamstring injury and Nicolas Jackson’s departure to Bayern Munich.

But Guiu went six games without an appearance and Maresca explained to him that it was due to what he was seeing in drills during the week.

He said: “We had a chat with Marc two (three) weeks ago, I told him that the way he was training I didn’t like and he needed to change.

“He was not training well, in all the ways. I don’t know (why). That is why with young players sometimes you go one way or you go more slowly, slowly with them.”

Guiu, who is eligible to face Sunderland, has now made three consecutive appearances for Chelsea, including scoring in the 5-1 win over Ajax on Wednesday.

“He changed and he got the chance,” Maresca said. “It is easy like that. Since we chat, it (the training) has been top, fantastic. He is working very good. Is he ready to start against Sunderland? Absolutely yes.”

Meanwhile, Delap is set to return ahead of schedule against Wolves in the Carabao Cup next week.

Chelsea had earmarked him to return in November when he sustained the problem against Fulham two months ago but he took part in training for the first time on Thursday.

“The schedule (for an injured player) can change depending on if they improve or get worse,” Maresca added. “But for the first time, they (the medical department) said to me that he (Delap) will be available for (from) the 25th October … today is the 24th. So yes, he can be available (for the cup game next week).”

Oct 24, 2025