Coventry City’s board are delighted with the Sky Blues leading the race to sign the Chelsea star

Coventry City are now leading rivals to sign the Chelsea star, according to a new report.

Coventry map out transfer plans after Premier League promotion

Coventry City are back.

After 25 years away from the top flight, Frank Lampard’s side moved into the Championship this season, winning the title and relegation with three games to spare following a 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers in April.

It was a moment that sent more than seven thousand traveling fans into delirium and captured one of the most remarkable comeback stories in English football.

From League Two in 2017 to the Premier League in 2026 – the Sky Blues have done it the hard way.

Now comes the next challenge: making sure they stay there.

Lampard and the Coventry board know that the Championship-winning squad will need to be strengthened if they are to compete at the top level, and the summer transfer window represents the most important recruitment period in the club’s modern history.

Attacking options are understood to be important, the coaching staff is willing to add a young, dynamic forward who can grow with the job.

Another name to top the list of nominees is Chelsea’s Marc Guiu.

Coventry City are in a strong position to sign Chelsea striker Marc Guiu

According to SportsBoom, Coventry are leading the race for the 20-year-old Spanish striker, who looks set to leave Stamford Bridge this summer as Chelsea continue to chip away at their depleted squad.

Guiu arrived in west London from Barcelona in July 2024 for a reported fee of £5m, burst onto the scene at the Camp Nou last season when he scored on his La Liga debut against Athletic Bilbao just 23 seconds after arriving – the youngest and fastest goalscorer in Barcelona’s league history.

Chelsea saw enough potential to move quickly, signing the youngster on a five-year contract.

But opportunities in the first team were rare. After his loan spell at Sunderland was cut short when Chelsea recalled Liam Delap through injury, Guiu managed 266 Premier League minutes this season, recording one assist and no goals.

He scored a goal in the group stage of the Champions League against Ajax but has been stuck on the fringes of the team.

Now Chelsea are willing to let him go.

SportsBoom reports that the club has signed with agents that they will accept offers in the £17-21 million range of a permanent deal, although they are also open to loan deals that would allow them to retain a share of any future value.

The financial pressure is real – BlueCo has spent more than £2bn on transfers since taking over, and the need to generate cash flow and reduce wage debt this summer is critical.

The prospect of Gui’s contract apparently ‘excites’ Coventry’s board, but they are not the only club interested.

Real Sociedad and Sevilla are both monitoring Guiu’s situation and are believed to be preparing loan and buyout proposals that could offer the striker a way back to his homeland.

The appeal of regular La Liga football and a return to Spain will be understandable for a player who grew up at Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy.

But Coventry’s pitch is compelling.

The chance to be a star player for a newly promoted Premier League team, playing every week under a manager in Lampard who understands what it takes to develop young players at the highest level, is a different kind of opportunity – and one that could accelerate Guiu’s development in a way that sitting on the Chelsea bench never could.