The Black Cats have beaten off competition from a number of clubs, both in England and on the continent, to land the 19-year-old Spaniard, who will spend the whole of next season at the Stadium of Light.
Chelsea will allow Guiu to leave on a straight one-year loan deal, without any clause for a permanent deal at the end of the loan arrangement. Sunderland are understood to be paying all of the youngster’s current wages as well as a one-off loan fee.
A product of Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy, Guiu made his senior debut for the Spanish giants in October 2023, scoring with his second touch as a senior professional against Athletic Bilbao.
He joined Chelsea in the summer of 2024 for a reported fee of €6m, but made just seven senior starts for the Blues last season, all of which came in cup competitions. His route to Chelsea’s first team has been blocked even further this summer due to the arrival of Liam Delap and Joao Pedro at Stamford Bridge.
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Black Cats boss Regis Le Bris wants to add another central striker to his squad to provide cover and competition for Eliezer Mayenda and Wilson Isidor, who played key roles in last season’s promotion success but who do not boast any prior experience of playing in the Premier League.
Guiu will undergo a medical on Wearside in the next 24 hours, with Sunderland also set to complete the signing of goalkeeper Robin Roefs before the weekend.
Roefs was at the Academy of Light yesterday undergoing a medical after Sunderland agreed to pay an initial sum of £9.5m for the 22-year-old, with the agreement with his current employers, NEC Nijmegen, also including a further £2.5m of potential add-ons.
Roefs’ signing will end a goalkeeping recruitment drive that has been ongoing for most of the summer, with previous moves for Marcin Bulka, who joined Saudi side Neom FC, and Djordje Petrovic, who swapped Chelsea for Bournemouth, having proved unsuccessful.
Roefs was always one of the options under consideration, and Sunderland officials have agreed a deal they feel offers considerable value in the current market.
A Netherlands Under-21 international, Roefs has spent the whole of senior career with Nijmegen, having made his senior debut for the Eredivisie club in September 2023.
He has made 42 senior appearances in the Netherlands, playing for an NEC side that finished eighth in the Dutch top-flight last season.
He is set to sign a five-year contract on Wearside and become Sunderland’s number one goalkeeper, replacing Anthony Patterson, who was the first choice as the Black Cats won promotion last season.
