Marc Guiu has broken his silence following Chelsea's emphatic 5-1 win over Shamrock Rovers. The 18-year-old striker netted a first-half hat-trick at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night, cementing the Blues a place in the UEFA Conference League round of 16.

He now leads the race for the golden boot in the competition, having scored six goals in as many games. Speaking to reporters after the game, Enzo Maresca heaped tremendous praise on Guiu, who Chelsea managed to sign from Barcelona for just £5m in the summer.

When asked if the Spain Under-19 international has a big future, the Blues boss replied: "Yeah, with Marc the problem is that sometimes we forget the age. He's the same age as Joshua Acheampong, Ty [George].

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"He already scored five six goals in this competition, and since we started he's working well, he's taking his chance, and he knows that with Nicolas [Jackson] there, with Christo [Nkunku] there, it's not easy for him, but it's important that he continues to work in the right way."

After the game, Guiu marked the victory with a celebratory post on Instagram, which eclipsed 100,000 likes in just a couple of hours. He captioned the post: "Good work of the whole team to complete the 6/6, very happy with my first hat-trick with this club and in front of our fans, let’s go for more @chelseafc [blue heart and smiling emoji]. Thanks God for this special night [praying emoji]."

The likes of Romeo Lavia, Pedro Neto, Noni Madueke and Moises Caicedo all flooded the comment section with messages, congratulating Guiu on the landmark. The teenager sensation has turned heads since joining Chelsea, and Maresca wants him to continue working closely with the first-team.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the west Londoners' clash against Everton on Sunday afternoon, the Chelsea boss was asked if Guiu will survive the January transfer window. He said: "With young players like Marc [Guiu], like Josh [Acheampong], like Tyrique [George], for me, the best thing for them is to be with us because they can understand every day the way we want to play.

"They can grow, we can teach them how we want them to play. So I think it's better if they stay with us. But then it depends a little on the desire of the players. If in this case, Marc’s desire is to get more minutes and to play more, then we see we sit with him and we will decide to together."

While Maresca may want to keep Guiu, the Chelsea boss could have his work cut out to fend off interest. On TNT Sports, Joe Cole backed the Spaniard to 'go all the way' and likened elements of the his game to Luis Suarez.

"I likened him to Suarez and I got a lot of stick for it," said the Blues legend. "I’m not saying he is Luis Suarez now, but what he’s got is that instinct and bravery. He’s thinking ‘I’m going to gamble’ and he commits at full pace."

Cole added: "How have Barcelona let him go? He’s 18 years of age, this kid in two years’ time could be an established, unbelievable No. 9. I think he can go all the way. I watch him and things you can’t teach, he’s already got.

"He knows to get in the box, his instinct, his aggression, he’s brave. You can brush up on all the other things in his game. He’s 18, playing with a smile on his face, I think Barcelona have made a real mistake there."