Aston Villa have reportedly reached an agreement with OGC Nice over the signing of striker Evann Guessand.
The 24-year-old came through the youth ranks with the Ligue 1 outfit, and has since gone on to score 21 goals and provide 15 assists in 109 appearances at senior level.
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13 of those goals and 10 of those assists came in 42 outings last season, while he also has 10 caps to his name for Ivory Coast as he has established himself as a key figure for club and country more recently.
With the versatility to play on the flanks as well as through the middle, Guessand looks a top talent, and according to L’Equipe, Villa have agreed a deal worth €35m with Nice to sign the frontman, while he’s expected to put pen to paper on a five-year contract with a medical scheduled for Wednesday.
Footmercato reporter Santi Aouna echoes those same details, while Fabrizio Romano has a slightly more reserved position as he states that Villa are closing in on a deal at this stage, with negotiations at an advanced point over the same fee noted above.
Given Villa’s lack of competition and depth up front alongside Ollie Watkins, signing a striker this summer was surely a priority for Unai Emery to bolster his options, and Guessand seemingly ticks the right boxes for the Villa boss in terms of being an ideal fit for his system and style of play.
Should the details touted above prove to be accurate, that’s a significant fee for a player with much still to prove though, and so there will certainly be pressure on our recruitment team if a deal is made official, as that’s a major outlay for a player who will have a big responsibility to add firepower to the side and give us a fresh attacking dynamic in the final third.
That said, when Villa have spent big on players for Emery, they’ve become key figures in the side when looking at Pau Torres, Amadou Onana and Morgan Rogers, and so should Guessand emerge as our marquee signing of the summer, it’s hoped that he can make a fundamental contribution in the coming years to support Watkins and add an increased threat up front for us.
Firstly though, we’ll wait to see if official confirmation comes from the club as the week progresses as Villa look to step up their transfer activity after what has been a quiet summer thus far.
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