Crystal Palace could yet bring Evan Guessand back to the club despite his option-to-buy expiry, with Sky Sports sharing the details.
Guessand did not spend long at Palace, but he made enough of an impression to leave supporters wondering what might have been.
The Ivory Coast international arrived on loan from Aston Villa during the second half of last season and quickly showed why Oliver Glasner had pushed to bring him to Selhurst Park.
Comfortable anywhere across the front line, Guessand added pace, power and direct running to Palace’s attack.
His numbers were respectable rather than spectacular. Two goals and one assist in 14 appearances only tell part of the story because several of those outings came from the bench, not to mention he was out for a month with a knee injury.
He also scored a dramatic late winner against Wolves before helping Palace lift the UEFA Conference League, becoming the first player to win two different European trophies in the same season after also qualifying for a Europa League winner’s medal at Villa.
Unfortunately for Palace, his momentum disappeared when that knee injury suffered in April basically ended his campaign just as he was beginning to establish himself.
That setback probably changed everything.
Had Guessand stayed fit, Palace’s obligation to buy could easily have been triggered through goal contributions. Instead, the injury denied him valuable matches and left the club with a difficult decision once the season ended.
Palace have other priorities this summer, and it is likely Villa would want at least £30m to sell Guessand permanently, given that is what Villa paid to sign him from Nice last year.
Sentiment alone cannot drive recruitment, even if Guessand’s potential remains obvious.
That being said, a deal could still be on.
Crystal Palace refuse to rule out re-signing Evan Guessand
According to Sky Sports News reporter James Savundra, via their live blog, Palace have not completely ruled out re-signing Guessand despite allowing both their obligation and option to buy clauses to expire.
The report explains that Palace were required to sign the forward permanently for £28 million if he reached eight goal contributions during his loan spell. Failing that, they still held a £28.5 million option to complete a transfer.
Neither clause was activated.
However, Sky Sports reports the Eagles remain big admirers of Guessand after his contribution to their Conference League-winning campaign, even though signing him is not currently viewed as a priority while attention is focused on strengthening other areas of the squad.
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Palace should not close the door completely. His pace, pressing and flexibility would fit naturally into Pierre Sage’s new-look Palace side, but at the same time, there is little reason to rush.
If Villa lower their demands later in the transfer window or circumstances change, Palace would still be in a strong position to revisit the deal. If not, they can continue pursuing alternatives without feeling they have missed out.
