Aston Villa have had a relatively slow 2025 summer transfer window in terms of signings, but they appear to be stepping up their transfer business before the start of the 2025/26 Premier League campaign.
The Villans are in need of buffing up their attacking depth and have made a key addition to their squad in Evann Guessand.
Aston Villa Complete Evann Guessand Signing From OGC Nice
Unai Emery’s side have been looking to improve their forward options since the departure of Marcus Rashford, who was sent back to Manchester United after his loan with the Villans ended.
Aston Villa were unable to replace Jhon Duran in January (2025), but now seem to have signed his replacement. It’s being reported that Aston Villa have agreed a deal with Ligue 1 side OGC Nice for the signing of Evann Guessand.
It’s further claimed that the Villans have agreed to pay a fee of around £26 million plus £4.3 million in potential add-ons as well.
Guessard was reportedly a transfer target for Crystal Palace as well, but Emery’s side worked hard behind the scenes to get a deal finalised before the start of their Premier League campaign.
He is poised to become Aston Villa’s first major signing of the 2025 summer window after they loaned new signing Yasin Ozcan to Anderlecht and also signed goalkeeper Marco Bizot.
Guessand will be competing for the No.9 role at the club alongside their primary forward, Ollie Watkins, as the Villans aim to compete for a top-5 place in the Premier League next season.
How Can Evann Guessand Signing Improve Aston Villa?
There is a reason why Aston Villa is spending a pretty formidable fee for the 24-year-old striker’s signing. Evan Guessand was actually OGC Nice’s Player of the Season for the 2024/25 season after playing a major role in helping them finish in fourth place in the Ligue 1 table last season.
He scored 12 goals and provided nine assists in the league for them, being able to play in a host of different roles as well.
Indeed, Guessand might naturally be a centre-forward but he can play as a right-winger and on the left wing if necessary, with his versatility being one of his biggest assets.
Guessand had a pretty impressive 2024/25 season when it comes to his attacking metrics, averaging 0.40 non-penalty goals, 2.23 shot attempts, 2.98 progressive carries and 4.99 touches in the opposition penalty area every 90 minutes last season.
He’s not actually that far off from Ollie Watkins in this aspect, with the Englishman averaging 0.41 non-penalty goals, 1.80 progressive carries and 5.63 touches in the opposition box in the Premier League last season.
The 24-year-old forward has also made 10 appearances for the Ivory Coast national football team so far, scoring a goal for them. He has managed to bag 36 goal contributions (21 goals, 15 assists) in 109 appearances for Nice, being quite consistent with his goal contributions to help them compete strongly in Ligue 1.
Guessand is likely to be a backup option to Watkins at Aston Villa for the forseeable future, but his versatility and eye for a goal contribution make him a clinical asset.
The 24-year-old is going to amplify Aston Villa’s goal threat and also raise their chances of grabbing more goals from substitutes in the matches he doesn’t start in.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / aal.photo
Recording Date: 07.06.2025