Crystal Palace have re-signed Evann Guessand on a season-long loan from Aston Villa. The move brings the 25-year-old Ivory Coast forward back to Selhurst Park after his first Palace loan spell ended in the summer, when the option to sign him permanently was not taken up. Villa describe the terms as a "conditional obligation to buy"; Palace call it an "option to buy".
Guessand arrived at Villa Park for £26m last August after scoring 12 goals and being voted Nice's player of the season as the Ligue 1 club finished fourth the year before, but he struggled to make an impact under Unai Emery, managing two goals in 21 appearances across the Premier League, the Europa League and the League Cup last season, according to Opta. He moved to Palace on loan in January, scored his first Premier League goal for the club in a 1-0 win over Wolves, and came off the bench in Palace's Conference League final win over Rayo Vallecano in May, the club's first European trophy. He had also appeared for Villa earlier in that campaign before Emery's side went on to win the Europa League, giving Guessand a winner's medal in both competitions.
He returned to Villa for pre-season after this summer's loan option lapsed, then made two substitute appearances for Ivory Coast at the World Cup before Palace moved again to bring him back to Selhurst Park.