For Marc Guiu, moving to Chelsea presented a number of risks. Switching from Barcelona, not only did the 19-year-old leave behind the glorious sunshine of Catolonia; he also said goodbye to his home.

Born in the city of Granollers, around 30 kilometres north east of Barcelona, Guiu began his career with Penya Barcelonista Sant Celoni, a fan club of the La Liga giants. In the 2013/14 season, the Spaniard then joined Barcelona themselves - where he would spend around a decade progressing and developing in the infamous La Masia academy system.

La Masia, which translates to 'The Farmhouse' in English, is Barcelona's famous youth academy. An academy that has produced some generational talents; including, but not limited to, the likes of Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi. You could go on as well, but those three are a pretty accurate reflection of the work that goes on behind the scenes.

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It was in October 2023 where Guiu's work in La Masia was noticed by the senior side with Xavi giving the striker - then 17-years-old - his competitive debut. And as far as debuts go, you could not have written a script any better for Guiu.

Introduced with just over 10 minutes to go in a La Liga clash with Athletic Bilbao, with the score goalless, Guiu found the net within 23 seconds of coming on. It was just his second touch for Barcelona. He became the youngest - and fastest - debutant to score for Barcelona in the Spanish top-flight, at 17 years and 291 days of age.

A UEFA Champions League debut followed a few days later for Guiu, who really introduced himself to the Barcelona faithful. After that, though, it was almost a month until Guiu featured for the first team again - coming in the 3-2 defeat away at Royal Antwerp in the Champions League, where he scored in the loss.

Despite impressing in his first three matches for the Catalan giants, Guiu would only go on to appear four more times for the first team in all competitions. There was very much a sense he was being eased in at such a young age, but when the summer transfer window came around, Guiu had an enormous decision to make.

Chelsea came calling in June. A release clause inserted into the teenager's contract at Camp Nou meant he was available for as little as £5million. Barcelona wanted rid of the release clause and offered Guiu a contract extension but the Blues' pull was too much in the end.

"It brings me immense joy to sign for Chelsea," the Spanish striker said in July. "I struggled to sleep last night ahead of the journey here because I was so excited.

"Ever since I was small, it was my dream to play in the Premier League and be successful in England. Now I have the opportunity to join Chelsea and I will work my hardest to be successful for the club."

Guiu went on to say: "On a personal level, I want to help the team as much as I can by scoring lots of goals. I want to become the best centre-forward in the world."

Ambition. Hunger. Exactly the sort of profile Chelsea have been looking for since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital bought the club in May 2022. For Guiu, leaving Barcelona was a big deal - it is all he knew for the first 18 years of his life - but the opportunity to play in the Premier League was too good to turn down.

Fast forward six months and while there has been plenty of promise shown from the Spanish striker, a lot of Chelsea supporters are desperate to see more of their teenage prodigy. Guiu has featured 12 times for the Blues in all competitions under Enzo Maresca but only two of them have been in the Premier League.

Late cameos against Manchester City - on the opening weekend of the season - and Crystal Palace represent his only league appearances to date. However, Guiu has shone in the UEFA Conference League, particularly in the final three matches of the league phase that Chelsea dominated from start to finish.

One goal against FC Noah - his first in a Chelsea shirt - was followed a month later by a brace away at Astana in the freezing cold Kazakhstan. Guiu was improving with every game and notched a hat-trick in the 5-1 win against Shamrock Rovers last month in a sensational all-round performance from the teenager.

Equally as impressive as his goals was the Spaniard's work-rate and intelligent pressing off the ball. There is an argument that Guiu is the most effective presser at the club; especially out of the centre-forwards.

That, though, has not changed Maresca's mind. It appears Guiu remains at the bottom of the three-man pecking order when it comes to striker options. Nicolas Jackson has been strong this season, although has tailed off in recent matches, while Christopher Nkunku has scored 13 times in 29 appearances in all competitions.

Maresca, though, is pleased with the Spaniard's development and speaking in his pre-West Ham United press conference on Friday morning, the Chelsea head coach dropped a hint that we could be about to see a lot more of Guiu in the coming games. The Italian said: "Marc is improving a lot, to be honest.

"He is doing fantastic; day by day, he is getting more and more ready for that sort of game but sometimes the decision is because I see something and sometimes it is good, sometimes it is not. For sure, Marc, I think day after day, he is more ready."