Evann Guessand
Ivorian-French footballer (born 2001)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Evann Ludovic Vidjannagni Guessand (born 1 July 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward or attacking midfielder for Premier League club Crystal Palace, on loan from Aston Villa. Born in France, he represents the Ivory Coast national team.
|
Guessand with Nice in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Evann Ludovic Vidjannagni Guessand | ||
| Date of birth | 1 July 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Ajaccio, Corse-du-Sud, France | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||
| Positions | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Crystal Palace (on loan from Aston Villa) | ||
| Number | 29 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008–2014 | ASPTT Marseille | ||
| 2014–2019 | Nice | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2020 | Nice B | 25 | (9) |
| 2020–2025 | Nice | 89 | (19) |
| 2020–2021 | → Lausanne-Sport (loan) | 34 | (7) |
| 2022–2023 | → Nantes (loan) | 30 | (3) |
| 2025– | Aston Villa | 13 | (0) |
| 2026– | → Crystal Palace (loan) | 8 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2017 | France U16 | 4 | (3) |
| 2018 | France U17 | 2 | (0) |
| 2019 | France U18 | 5 | (2) |
| 2019 | France U19 | 4 | (0) |
| 2024– | Ivory Coast | 21 | (4) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 24 May 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 31 March 2026 | |||
Guessand is a product of the Nice academy, and progressed through their youth and B sides to the first team, before transferring to Aston Villa in 2025. He also spent time on loan at Lausanne-Sport and Nantes earlier in his career.
Guessand was a regular French youth international up to under-19 level, before switching to the Ivory Coast in 2024.
Early life
Evann Ludovic Vidjannagni Guessand[2] was born on 1 July 2001 in Ajaccio, Corse-du-Sud.[3] His father Servais Guessand Konan is an Ivorian former footballer who played professionally for AC Ajaccio.[4]
Club career
Nice
Guessand joined the youth academy of OGC Nice at the age of 12.[5] On 5 January 2020, he made his professional debut in a 2–0 Coupe de France win over Fréjus Saint-Raphaël.[6][7] On 23 August, he made his Ligue 1 debut against Lens as a late substitute in 2–1 home win.[8]
Loan to Lausanne
On 30 September 2020, Guessand joined FC Lausanne-Sport on loan.[9] On 3 October, he made his Swiss Super League debut against Zürich, scoring his first goal for the club in the 4–0 home victory.[10] In total, he scored seven goals during the 2020–21 season, making him the team's top goalscorer, and also recorded five assists.[11]
Return to Nice
In the pre-season of 2021–22, Guessand extended his contract at Nice until 2026.[11] On 24 October 2021, he recorded his first goal for the club, scoring a stoppage time winner against Olympique Lyonnais after coming on as an 83rd minute substitute.[12] Three days later, he made his first start in a 1–1 draw against Olympique de Marseille, assisting a goal for Amine Gouiri six minutes into the Mediterranean derby.[13]
Overall, he made 20 league appearances during the season, including two starts.[14] In the 2021–22 Coupe de France, Guessand made substitute appearances in every round, including the 2022 Coupe de France final where Nice were beaten 1–0 by FC Nantes at the Stade de France on 7 May.[15]
Loan to Nantes
On 12 July 2022, Guessand joined Ligue 1 club Nantes on a season-long loan.[16] He made his debut for the club in the 2022 Trophée des Champions on 31 July, where they were beaten 4–0 by Paris Saint-Germain.[17]
He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–1 league win over Toulouse on 28 August.[18] On 8 September, on his UEFA Europa League debut, Guessand scored the winning goal for Nantes in the final minutes of a 2–1 home victory over Olympiacos.[19]
Guessand ended 2022–23 as a runner-up in the Coupe de France for the second consecutive season. He was an unused substitute in the 2023 Coupe de France final on 29 April, where Nantes were beaten 5–1 by FC Toulouse.[20]
Second return to Nice
Guessand appeared in all 34 of Nice's matches in the 2023–24 Ligue 1 season, starting in 14 matches and scoring six goals.[21] In 2024–25, he was named the club's Player of the Season[22] after scoring twelve goals and recording nine assists.[21]
Aston Villa
On 8 August 2025, Guessand signed for Premier League club Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee; the contract is valid until 2030.[23] This fee was reported to be worth €35 million (£30.5 million).[24] He made his Premier League debut as a late substitute in a 1–0 defeat to Brentford on 23 August.[25] On 23 October, Guessand scored his first Aston Villa goal in an eventual 2–1 Europa League defeat to Go Ahead Eagles.[26]
Loan to Crystal Palace
On 30 January 2026, Guessand joined fellow Premier League club Crystal Palace on a loan deal, with an option to make the move permanent at the end of the season.[27] He made his debut on 8 February as a second-half substitute away at rivals Brighton & Hove Albion, contributing with an assist for Ismaïla Sarr to ensure a 1–0 victory for Palace and end a 12-match winless streak.[28] On 22 February, he scored his first goal for Crystal Palace and first goal in the Premier League, a 90th-minute winner to seal a 1–0 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers.[29] Four days later, he scored Palace's second goal in the 2–0 win over HŠK Zrinjski Mostar in the UEFA Conference League.[30]
Guessand concluded the 2025–26 season with two European titles, having featured in the Europa League-winning Aston Villa squad and the Conference League-winning Crystal Palace side.[31]
The option-to-buy Evann Guessand expired on 1 June 2026.[32]
International career
Born in France, Guessand holds French and Ivorian nationalities.[33] After representing France at youth level,[34] Guessand was named in the Ivory Coast's provisional squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in December 2023.[35]
Guessand made his debut for the Ivory Coast national team on 11 June 2024 in a World Cup qualifier against Kenya at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe, Malawi. He substituted Emmanuel Latte Lath in the 61st minute of a scoreless draw.[36] He scored his first international goal in a 1–0 win over Burundi on 21 March 2025.[37]
Having originally only named in the back-up squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, Guessand was called up to the tournament squad to replace the injured Sébastien Haller on 19 December 2025.[38] He appeared in four of the team's five matches at the tournament, scoring once in a 3–2 win over Gabon.[39]
On May 15, 2026, Guessand was integrated by Ivory Coast coach Emerse Faé in his list of 26 players in order to participate in the 2026 World Cup.[40]
Personal life
Guessand is the older brother of Axel Guessand, who is also a former French youth international footballer.[41]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 27 May 2026
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nice II | 2018–19 | Championnat National 2 | 7 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 7 | 1 | ||||
| 2019–20 | Championnat National 3 | 17 | 8 | — | — | — | — | 17 | 8 | |||||
| 2020–21 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 25 | 9 | — | — | — | — | 25 | 9 | ||||||
| Nice | 2019–20 | Ligue 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | 20 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 25 | 1 | |||||
| 2023–24 | 34 | 6 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | 38 | 7 | |||||
| 2024–25 | 32 | 12 | 2 | 0 | — | 7[c] | 1 | — | 41 | 13 | ||||
| Total | 89 | 19 | 12 | 1 | — | 7 | 1 | — | 108 | 21 | ||||
| Lausanne-Sport (loan) | 2020–21 | Swiss Super League | 34 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 35 | 7 | |||
| Nantes (loan) | 2022–23 | Ligue 1 | 30 | 3 | 5 | 1 | — | 9[c] | 2 | 1[d] | 0 | 45 | 6 | |
| Aston Villa | 2025–26 | Premier League | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7[c] | 2 | — | 21 | 2 | |
| Crystal Palace (loan) | 2025–26 | Premier League | 8 | 1 | — | — | 6[e] | 1 | — | 14 | 2 | |||
| Career total | 199 | 39 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 248 | 47 | ||
- Includes Coupe de France, Swiss Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance in Trophée des Champions
- Appearances in UEFA Conference League
International
- As of match played 31 March 2026[42]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ivory Coast | 2024 | 6 | 0 |
| 2025 | 11 | 3 | |
| 2026 | 4 | 1 | |
| Total | 21 | 4 | |
- Ivory Coast score listed first, score column indicates score after each Guessand goal.[42]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 March 2025 | Meknes Honor Stadium, Meknes, Morocco |  Burundi | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 10 October 2025 | Côte d'Or National Sports Complex, Saint Pierre, Mauritius |  Seychelles | 4–0 | 7–0 | |
| 3 | 31 December 2025 | Marrakesh Stadium, Marrakesh, Morocco |  Gabon | 2–2 | 3–2 | 2025 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 4 | 28 March 2026 | Stadium MK, Milton Keynes, England |  South Korea | 1–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
