Crystal Palace are in talks to re-sign Evann Guessand on a season-long loan from Aston Villa. The move would send him back to Selhurst Park after a difficult first half of the campaign at Villa, where he scored two goals in 21 appearances in all competitions after a £26m transfer in August last year.
Why Palace are interested again
The football logic is fairly clear. Palace already know what Guessand looks like in their shirt, and that makes this different from a blind gamble on a player still trying to find his feet elsewhere.
Guessand had a productive spell at Palace after moving there in January, scoring his first Premier League goal in a 1-0 win over Wolves. He also came on in the Conference League final win over Rayo Vallecano and finished the season with a Europa League winner's medal after appearing for Villa earlier in the season.
That kind of familiarity matters in a loan market where clubs often want a quicker return than a permanent signing can offer. Palace are not shopping for a theory here, they are weighing up a player who already fit their setup once and has not delivered much at Villa since.
Villa's difficult start and the case for a return
BBC Sport reported that Palace are in talks to bring him back on a season-long loan, and that his Villa start has been underwhelming. Two goals from 21 appearances is not the sort of return that shuts down speculation, especially for a £26m signing.
Palace's own numbers are also steady enough to make the timing sensible. They picked up five points from their last five Premier League matches, which gives them a decent base to consider a move of this sort without feeling forced into it.
For now, it is still talks, not a done deal. But the fit is easy to understand: Palace want a forward they already know, Villa have not yet got enough from the one they bought, and Guessand has already shown he can at least settle quickly at Selhurst Park.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
