Aston Villa behind the scenes stance on Evann Guessand proves they knew they wasted £28m
Aston Villa believe Evann Guessand is better suited to Crystal Palace’s style of play than theirs.
The Ivorian moved to Villa Park from Ligue 1 side Nice last summer but did not register a single Premier League goal before leaving on loan.
Guessand has hit the ground running at Palace, scoring two goals and notching an assist in his first seven games, and is set to join permanently in the summer.
Unai Emery just couldn’t get the best out of him, and a damning behind-the-scenes admission at Villa suggests that he was never the right fit from the start.
- Read more: Unai Emery failed to get the best out of Evann Guessand at Aston Villa – this may just be why
How do Aston Villa really feel about Evann Guessand?
It was revealed earlier this month that Guessand needs just five more goal involvements to trigger the obligation to buy clause included in his initial loan switch.
Judging from his early performances in South London, he will almost certainly achieve that milestone, leaving Villa to conduct a post-mortem on a costly transfer misfire.
Damningly, Villa splashed out £28million on him despite seemingly not being convinced he would make the required impact, according to The Athletic.
Reporter Jacob Tanswell has revealed that figures at Villa Park believe Guessand is more equipped for Palace’s system because of his physique and athleticism.
The same report has pointed out that the winger can often struggle in tighter areas, whereas he flourishes on transition, a staple of Oliver Glasner’s tactics.
At Villa, he was often tasked with holding the width, allowing Morgan Rogers to cause havoc in central areas, but this nullified the summer signing and left him short on options.
Villa must learn from Guessand transfer mistake
Clearly, Villa didn’t do their homework on Guessand. The latest report on the real thoughts of the hierarchy speaks volumes, and now, they must not repeat the same mistake.
Emery likes his players to keep hold of the ball, but it is this slower, steadier tempo that proved the very antithesis of what makes Guessand tick.
His time at Nice showed that he required players on either side of him on lightning counter-attacks, while he was also afforded more freedom to be creative in France.
Of course, teams cannot carry passengers in the Premier League, especially not on transition, but Palace have played to their strengths. He is deservedly shining.
Villa need to take a long, hard look at themselves and adopt a laser focus on players capable of slotting immediately into Emery’s squad and thriving in his system.
Simply, they cannot afford to be throwing money away, not with finances as tight as they are.
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