Aston Villa are reportedly set to welcome back Evann Guessand as Crystal Palace are not expected to activate their £28m option-to-buy clause.
Villa signed the 25-year-old from Nice last summer, but after struggling in his first few months at the club having contributed just two goals and no assists in 21 appearances across all competitions, he was sent out on loan to Crystal Palace in January for the remainder of the season.
Guessand fared slightly better and looked more effective with Palace as he bagged two goals and an assist in 14 outings, and it perhaps was hoped by many that our Premier League rivals would trigger the buy-out clause in that agreement to sign him on a permanent basis this summer.
Subscribe to Talk Villa+ below for ad-free weekly newsletters, exclusive articles and much more sent directly to you. The TalkVilla podcast is also now available, have a listen, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts or YouTube. UTV!
However, according to Standard Sport reporter Sam Tabuteau, Guessand is set to return to Villa as Palace have opted to not exercise their option to sign him outright for £28m.
That doesn’t necessarily guarantee that Guessand comes back and plays for us in the upcoming campaign as a new loan move or permanent switch could be negotiated with another club.
It’s unclear though if he has any alternative suitors at this stage, and so if that is indeed Palace’s decision, the Ivorian international may well report back to Bodymoor Heath for pre-season training later this month.
Given how he struggled not only for goal contributions but to settle and adapt to our system and way of playing, it’s difficult to see how a second chance for Guessand works out positively, as he’ll still face the same issues with competition for places and the pressure of having to deliver consistently at a high level if he is to make the cut under Unai Emery.
That said, having had time to adapt to English football for a further six months at Selhurst Park, perhaps he’s now ready for another shot at Villa, and so it will be interesting to see how he fares in our pre-season schedule if he features.
Villa could still look for a transfer in order to secure a financial boost and create space in the squad for a new signing, but Guessand was signed for a reason initially, and if he does end up staying, it’s hoped that he can show exactly what caught Villa’s eye a year ago.