Aston Villa injected no shortage of attacking talent into their squad in the January transfer window, signing two of European football’s biggest names on loan in PSG’s Marco Asensio and Manchester United’s perennially underachieving Marcus Rashford.
The moves came after Aston Villa sacrificed their biggest breakout star for a big payday from Saudi Arabia, sending out Jhon Duran with Ollie Watkins having the starting job sewn up.
But Unai Emery and Monchi do want some striker help, and they also want an attacking midfielder with the profile to play out wide, albeit someone with more dynamism than Asensio.
With the futures of Rashford and Asensio unlikely to be with Aston Villa, the Clarets will want younger, more economical, and more consistent solutions to boost a side that most likely won’t be back to the Champions League next season – and is out of risk of falling out of European football as a whole.
According to a report from Nice Matin’s William Humberset, Aston Villa were among the teams who went after Nice breakout star forward Evann Guessand in the January transfer window.
Guessand ultimately decided to stay with Nice until the end of the 2024/25 Ligue 1 season before making a transfer decision in summer 2025. However, when he was receiving the offers in January, Guessand was reportedly most interested in the proposal from Aston Villa.
That suggests if Aston Villa are still looking for a hybrid striker, attacking midfield, and winger option, Guessand could be someone they go back to in June and would have a high chance of signing.
Guessand checks off all the boxes, because he can play on either wing, as a 10, or as a 9. He’s most often played through the middle this year, specifically as a 10, but he has at least four Ligue 1 starts in every major attacking postion.
He’s been super productive all-around, too. Guessand has scored 11 goals with 7 assists in the league this season while averaging nearly four combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per game for Nice.
Every game Nice play, Guessand stands out among the players on the pitch. Aston Villa need to sign rising talents like this 23-year-old Frenchman, and all fans of the club should listen for his name closely when the market opens this summer.
Joe Soriano covers West Ham for Green Street Hammers and writes about Real Madrid for The Real Champs. He has extensive experience covering world football since 2014. Joe is an editor for The Trivela Effect, where he covers the biggest clubs in European football. He has watched professional sports regularly since 2002 and can be found playing the same sports he covers with his friends.