Crystal Palace are negotiating a season-long loan for Aston Villa forward Evann Guessand, seeking to reunite with the player who helped them win the Conference League last season. The Ivory Coast international spent the second half of last season on loan at Selhurst Park after struggling to establish himself at Villa Park, and his potential return underlines Palace's desire to strengthen their squad with a player already familiar with the club.

The 25-year-old joined Villa for £26m in August last year but managed just two goals in 21 appearances before moving to Palace in January, where he scored his first Premier League goal against Wolves and featured in the Conference League final win over Rayo Vallecano. He also picked up a Europa League winner's medal for his earlier Villa appearances and made two substitute appearances for Ivory Coast at this summer's World Cup. Guessand returned to Villa for pre-season after Palace did not exercise an option to sign him permanently earlier in the summer.