Chelsea felt recalling Marc Guiu was a better option than signing ‘mentally strong’ centre-forward

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Chelsea weighed up a few different options before they recalled Marc Guiu from his loan at Sunderland.

Following Liam Delap’s hamstring injury, Chelsea knew that they had to add another striker to their squad.

As a result, Guiu was brought back from Sunderland, having initially joined them on a season-long loan deal.

Before that happened, though, the Blues considered buying a new centre-forward.

• READ MORE: How Marc Guiu has reacted to Chelsea recalling him from his loan at Sunderland

Chelsea preferred recalling Marc Guiu over signing Conrad Harder

Before his move from Sporting Lisbon to RB Leipzig, Chelsea thought about signing Conrad Harder.

It has been claimed that Chelsea wanted Bayern Munich to buy Nicolas Jackson so that they would have the funds to bring in Harder.

In the end, though, the Club World Cup winners felt that recalling Guiu was a better option than signing Harder because of the 19-year-old’s Premier League experience, according to BBC Sport.

Chelsea also had the option of keeping Jackson, but the Senegal international was desperate to join Bayern and eventually got his move.

It means that Enzo Maresca will be relying on Joao Pedro and Guiu until Delap is fit again, which may not be any time soon.

There are fears that Delap could be sidelined longer than expected. Initially, it was thought that the 22-year-old would be out for four–eight weeks.

Chelsea considered signing Emanuel Emegha before Marc Guiu recall

Harder was not the only No.9 Chelsea looked at in the final days of the transfer window.

The Chelsea Chronicle understands that Chelsea also discussed bringing in Emanuel Emegha from sister club Strasbourg.

However, BlueCo quickly came to the conclusion that it was better for the 22-year-old to remain in France and develop there.

As for Harder, he is also likely to progress quicker at Leipzig, who can guarantee him minutes, unlike Chelsea.

The Dane is a signing that the German club are really excited about. Speaking to Leipzig’s official website about Harder, managing director for sport Marcel Schafer said: “In Conrad, we’ve signed a striker who perfectly suits our profile. He’s tall, physically and mentally strong, aggressive, with a lot of pace and a very dangerous left foot. He’s also got international experience.”

With neither the former Sporting man nor Emegha arriving at Chelsea, though, Guiu must now deliver.