Six months ago, Evann Guessand sat at Bodymoor Heath and talked about destiny. About how one conversation with Unai Emery convinced him that Villa was the only choice. "His football is my football," he said at the time. That marriage didn't last.
On Friday evening, Crystal Palace announced what had been obvious for weeks: Guessand is heading to Selhurst Park on loan until the end of the season. Villa get a player off the wage bill. Palace get another body for their depleted squad. Guessand gets what he needs most — a chance to actually play football.
The numbers don't lie
Let's be blunt about his time at Villa Park. Twenty-one appearances sounds respectable. But only six of those came as Premier League starts. His two goals? Both in the Europa League. In the domestic competition that actually matters for his profile, Guessand drew blanks. Zero goals. Zero assists in the league. Some Villa fans weren't subtle about their frustration — one memorably asked on social media how he kept "winning the Holte End raffle every week to play."
The £23.5 million Villa paid Nice last summer was supposed to be a bargain for a 13-goal striker. It didn't work out that way. Emery tried him on the right wing, as a striker, on the left. Nothing clicked. The versatility that made him attractive became a curse — a player without a fixed position, competing against Ollie Watkins and Donyell Malen for minutes he was never going to win.
Why Palace makes sense
Oliver Glasner's squad is stretched thin. Everyone knows it, including Glasner himself. After the shambolic 2-1 defeat at Sunderland last week, the Austrian didn't hold back. "We feel like we're being abandoned completely," he told Sky Sports. "Look at the bench, there are just kids there." Selling Marc Guehi to Manchester City the day before that match didn't help his mood.
Palace have now won the FA Cup, sit fourth in the Premier League — historic territory for them — and yet haven't won a match in their last ten attempts across all competitions. That includes getting knocked out of the FA Cup by non-league Macclesfield. The dissonance is almost comical.
Guessand won't solve everything. But his physical profile suits what Glasner wants: runners who press, forwards who stretch defences. At Palace, he'll get actual minutes instead of watching from Villa's bench. The loan includes an option to buy set at around €30 million — a number Palace will only trigger if Guessand remembers how to score.
The elephant in the room
There's another deadline more important than the January transfer window. In June, Ivory Coast opens their World Cup campaign against Ecuador. Then Germany. Then Curaçao. It's a competitive group, and Emerse Faé has options up front: Sébastien Haller, Amad Diallo, Yan Diomandé. Guessand isn't guaranteed anything.
He earned his call-up to AFCON 2025 as a late replacement when Haller got injured. Scored against Gabon. Did enough to stay in the conversation. But conversations don't mean squad places. Faé has been clear that selection is based on merit and match fitness. Sitting on Villa's bench was never going to cut it.
The next four months will determine whether Guessand goes to America in the summer or watches from home. No pressure.
What happens next
Palace face Aston Villa at Selhurst Park on Monday — the timing is almost too neat. Guessand won't be eligible for that one, having only just completed the move. But after that, he'll have roughly fifteen Premier League games to prove he belongs at this level.
For a 24-year-old from Ajaccio who came through Marseille's ASPTT academy and spent five years at Nice before his big Premier League break, this loan feels like a crossroads. Either he rediscovers his form at a club genuinely fighting for something, or his World Cup dream slips away while Palace's season collapses around him.
Glasner is leaving in the summer regardless. The squad is thin. The fixture list is brutal. But for Guessand, that chaos might be exactly what he needs. Sometimes, desperation produces opportunity.
