Credit: Imago

Richie Mills

Wed 15 April 2026 12:40, UK

Aston Villa may yet be burdened with Evann Guessand after the Crystal Palace loanee suffered an injury blow.

Villa recruited Guessand from Nice for a fee worth up to £30.5million last summer, but it quickly became apparent this was a signing that wouldn’t work out.

The 24-year-old looked off the pace in the first half of the season, with the winger failing to score in 13 Premier League appearances.

He was promptly shipped out on loan to Palace in January, with Oliver Glasner’s side having an option to purchase the forward at the end of the campaign.

Now, reports have emerged that Guessand has suffered an injury setback, which could put pay to Palace taking him off Villa’s hands permanently.

Evann Guessand’s underwhelming season

Guessand was Villa’s marquee signing last summer, partly because they relied heavily on loans and free transfers as they were wary of falling afoul of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules.

While he was mostly ineffective for Unai Emery‘s team, he had most of his joy as a right winger, where he scored twice in 14 outings.

One-off experiments as a left-winger and as a centre-forward didn’t pay dividends, while at Palace, Glasner has deployed him on the left, the right, as an attacking midfielder and as a supporting striker.

In 19 Premier League matches for both Villa and Palace, Guessand has one solitary goal, which came in a 1-0 win over Wolves in late February.

As per Sofascore, Guessand has missed three big chances in the league this season; his goal conversion rate is nine per cent, he has created two big chances, his dribble success is 34 per cent, and his total duels won are at 44 per cent.

He is averaging a goal every 896 minutes, and his Expected Goals tally of 1.56 is just above his actual amount of one. So, will Palace take him off Villa’s hands?

That is now up in the air after Glasner confirmed that Guessand has picked up a knee issue following their 3-0 win over Fiorentina in the first leg of their Conference League quarter-final.

While he won’t be out for the rest of the season, his chances to convince Palace to sign him may be dwindling.

Aston Villa’s squad needs freshening up

In January 2025, Villa sent Emi Buendia out on loan to Bayer Leverkusen, and Leon Bailey was falling out of favour at the club.

In the second half of this season, Villa decided to recall Bailey from his Roma loan, while Buendia has been a regular this term.

Morgan Rogers was signed just over two years ago, but he may have been the last addition that has really improved Villa’s starting XI.

Rogers has been linked with a Villa exit this summer, with the England international likely to attract a huge fee if sold.

Incidentally, if Guessand returned to Villa, Emery could be stuck with a squad in desperate need of revitalising, in addition to the prospect of losing talisman Rogers.

Emery has worked wonders at Villa, but he may need more magic if all this comes to pass.