Evann Guessand set for loan from Villa to fellow Premier League club

Ivory Coast international Evann Guessand will look to boost his playing time this season with another English Premier League club on the verge of acquiring the forward on loan from Aston Villa.

🚨EXCL:🔴🔵🇨🇮 #PL |

🔐 Agreement in principle reached between Crystal Palace and Aston Villa for Evann Guessand

💰 Loan + optionhttps://t.co/iCIHesMKgW pic.twitter.com/0hQVDK9v6Y

— Santi Aouna (@Santi_J_FM) January 29, 2026

 Foot Mercado journalist Santi Aouna reports that an agreement has been reached for the 24-year-old to join Crystal Palace until the end of the current campaign. Aouna indicates that the London club will have an option to purchase Guessand permanently.

Signed from French Ligue 1 club OGC Nice ahead of the season, the adaptation to life in England’s top flight has been difficult for the Ivorian. Limited mostly to a role off the bench in league action, Guessand’s starts have come in Villa’s UEFA Europa League campaign where he has 2 goals in 7 appearances. He has one assist in thirteen Premier League matches.

Guessand 👊#UEL pic.twitter.com/anhuWwnAtF

— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) September 2, 2024

But a move to Palace would present an excellent opportunity for the Ajaccio native to get more opportunities while still participating in UEFA interclub competitions. The club is set to advance to the knockout stages of the UEFA Conference League while transfer rumors indicate a potential departure for top scorer Jean-Philippe Mateta.

Guessand recently returned from international duty with Ivory Coast at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, where he scored one goal in four appearances as the Elephants reached the quarterfinals. He enjoyed a breakout season at Nice, providing 12 goals and 7 assists in 33 Ligue 1 appearances to spark his big-money move to Aston Villa.

Palace are in awful form domestically. Languishing in 15th place on the Premier League table, they have not won a league match since a 2-1 victory at Fulham on December 7.