Crystal Palace make Evann Guessand transfer decision after loan spell | OneFootball

New manager has made a decision over the future of loanee striker

Evann Guessand is expected to stay at Aston Villa next season after Crystal Palace opted against triggering their £28million option to buy for the striker.

Standard Sport understands that Guessand, who joined Palace on a six-month loan in January, is set to return to Villa for pre-season and compete for minutes under Unai Emery.

The 25-year-old only joined Villa last summer, in a £30m deal from Ligue 1 side Nice, but was shipped out on loan in January after failing to score in 13 Premier League appearances.

Guessand, who is said to have been open to a permanent move to Palace, proved a useful player for the Eagles as they balanced Premier League and Conference League commitments in the second half of last season.

But after a prolonged spell out with a knee injury, Guessand struggled to re-establish himself in Oliver Glasner’s plans and was limited to just 10 minutes off the bench as Palace lifted the Conference League with a 1-0 victory over Spanish outfit Rayo Vallecano.

Palace had the option to retain Guessand on a permanent deal, but new manager Pierre Sage has opted to instead identifying other targets.

Emery previously said that he did not want Guessand to leave in January, so his arrival back at Bodymoor Heath should provide a boost for Villa following the departures of Donyell Malen, Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho.

Palace and Villa both returned for pre-season training last week as preparations get underway for the new campaign.