Evann Guessand (on loan at Crystal Palace)

[frank black]

Amazing really, as you say there must be something in him. But from what I’ve seen he’s up there amongst the worst players I’ve watched play for us. I hope he finds his form and comes back and shoves my words where the sun don’t shine.

[Chip Butty 111]

Best of luck to him. Was never going to play wide as our youngsters are better than him, as displayed last night. With Ollie and Tammy he wasn't going to play as a CF either.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Guessand confirmed as moving on loan with option to buy to Palace according to John Townley .

On loan, then, basically, once they see what they've got.

Another massive waste of time and money in the transfer market. Imagine if we got that bit of it all right, as well.

The right wing is our achilles heel. The money we've spent and wasted trying to find a decent player there is hilarious. Thankfully we got a 'get out of jail' card from the Saudis with Diaby as his price never looked recoverable. As great as Malen was he wasn't a winger. Sancho? Haha! £10m on Alysonn, Bailey back, in fact I'm struggling to recall the best right sided attacker we've had this century. Anybody who says Stewart Downing needs help. His best season was 5 assists when everything was going through him.

[Matt C]

Said a lot about our summer transfer business that he looked completely ill suited to our system and Emery’s demands from the outset.

When Emery mentioned us making “some mistakes” in the summer the writing was on the wall.

[Brazilian Villain]

Best of luck to him and, given we've played them twice already, I hope he scores loads for Palace.

[eye digress]

Guessand confirmed as moving on loan with option to buy to Palace according to John Townley .

On loan, then, basically, once they see what they've got.

Another massive waste of time and money in the transfer market. Imagine if we got that bit of it all right, as well.

The right wing is our achilles heel. The money we've spent and wasted trying to find a decent player there is hilarious.

It really is. It isn't even clear what kind of player we want there. An odd situation.

As for Evann, as much as he's looked like a bit of a donkey (and he has), he does seem to have a bit of a fan club in the game.

Will we ever find out why?

[andyh]

Flipping heck. Thats a very terse confirmation on the official site.

[lovejoy]

If the guaranteed fee is £28m, we've turned a PSR/SCR profit havent we? 30m/5 yr contract then (1yr amort) = £24m so a £4m profit?

Only if they end up,paying it. If we have set it too high then we have lost out because we get a non sale and the return of a substandard player.

[TonyD]

Palace must be mad. 

[KevinGage]

Guessand confirmed as moving on loan with option to buy to Palace according to John Townley .

On loan, then, basically, once they see what they've got.

Another massive waste of time and money in the transfer market. Imagine if we got that bit of it all right, as well.

The right wing is our achilles heel. The money we've spent and wasted trying to find a decent player there is hilarious. Thankfully we got a 'get out of jail' card from the Saudis with Diaby as his price never looked recoverable. As great as Malen was he wasn't a winger. Sancho? Haha! £10m on Alysonn, Bailey back, in fact I'm struggling to recall the best right sided attacker we've had this century. Anybody who says Stewart Downing needs help. His best season was 5 assists when everything was going through him.

Best I can think of in the last 20 odd years is Nobby Solano. For a bit.

James Milner to some extent too. But he was far more effective for us centrally.

[eamonn]

From Crystal Pravdace:

Evann Guessand cannot wait to get started in a Crystal Palace shirt, as the forward told Palace TV in his first interview as an Eagle.

The 24-year-old has joined Palace on a loan deal until the end of the season from Aston Villa, and brings an exciting mix of flair, athleticism – and a desire to achieve big things in South London.

Guessand told Palace TV: “I’m really excited, really excited to be here. I was waiting for this moment for a very long time.

“I’m excited to play with my new teammates and fight with them, because we have some objectives, some targets, and I think with the quality we have, we can achieve something.

“I've seen a lot of qualities in this team. I've seen them playing. I think my first game in the [Premier] League was against Crystal Palace, and I've seen the quality of this team.

“Every player has this mentality to win, and the Manager as well. I spoke with him and the way he plays, the way he gets the best from his players, this is what I really like.

“I want to improve – I want to get better and better every day – so there are lots of reasons to come here.

Delving into the mix of attributes which saw him named Nice’s Player of the Season in 2024/25, attracting widespread attention from across Europe, Guessand noted: “I want to bring my qualities, everything I can do on the pitch.

“I think the way I play and the way the team plays fits really well with the quality we've already got.

"My motivation, everything I've learned before, my experience… I think everything can be good for the team. I just need to be focused and everything's going to be okay.

“I can play in every position. I'm still a forward, but I can play left winger, right winger, No. 10, No. 9…. I'm a versatile player. I would say I have speed, I'm strong and technical as well, so this is why I can play a bit everywhere.”

Guessand’s participation in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations – where he scored in the group-stages and helped Ivory Coast reach the quarter-finals – meant he did not visit Selhurst Park with Aston Villa earlier this month.

But the forward is raring to get going in SE25, noting the upcoming visit of Burnley to Selhurst Park on Wednesday, 11th February (19:30 GMT) – for which limited tickets remain available – as his first opportunity to experience the ground’s famous atmosphere.

“I missed it because I was at AFCON when my last club [Aston Villa] played against Crystal Palace, so I haven't had the opportunity to come to Selhurst Park!” he recalled.

“But I think the first game for me at home is 11th February – and I’m really excited to see the fans, and to see the atmosphere in the stadium. I’m ready.

“Keep being behind the team, keep supporting us, because we need the fans to be at the highest level to reach our goals, our targets.”

[aldridgeboy]

"Flair" ??

[tomd2103]

Guessand confirmed as moving on loan with option to buy to Palace according to John Townley .

On loan, then, basically, once they see what they've got.

Another massive waste of time and money in the transfer market. Imagine if we got that bit of it all right, as well.

The right wing is our achilles heel. The money we've spent and wasted trying to find a decent player there is hilarious. Thankfully we got a 'get out of jail' card from the Saudis with Diaby as his price never looked recoverable. As great as Malen was he wasn't a winger. Sancho? Haha! £10m on Alysonn, Bailey back, in fact I'm struggling to recall the best right sided attacker we've had this century. Anybody who says Stewart Downing needs help. His best season was 5 assists when everything was going through him.

Along with the 'number 10' position, I think it's been the one position that the financial situation has really held us back in.  Two really top class players in those positions with Rogers on the left (which I still think is his best position) and we move that next level up.

[Garyth]

As for Evann, as much as he's looked like a bit of a donkey (and he has), he does seem to have a bit of a fan club in the game.

Will we ever find out why?

Playing devil's advocate:

It's fairly obvious he doesn't fit at Villa (how/where we've been playing him, anyway), but that doesn't necessarily mean he won't fit at a different club and playing in a different role.

eg. Perhaps it would work if he was up front and asked to run onto through balls, with no other expectation than to take a first time shot at goal.

[eye digress]

That's more or less how/where he was playing for Cote d'Ivoire at Afcon - and he wasn't really any more convincing.

Was still getting picked ahead of other options, mind.