Crystal Palace are working to secure the return of forward Evann Guessand, with the club in discussions to bring the Ivory Coast international back to Selhurst Park on a season-long loan from Aston Villa.
The 25-year-old already has strong ties to Palace after spending the second half of last season with the Eagles, a spell that culminated in silverware as he was part of the squad that lifted the Conference League title in May.
Guessand's time in English football began with a big-money move to Aston Villa in August of last year, when he arrived for a fee in the region of £26m. However, his first months at Villa Park did not go to plan, as he managed just two goals across 21 appearances in all competitions during an inconsistent start to life in the Premier League.
Seeking regular football, Guessand joined Palace on loan in January, and the switch paid off almost immediately. He opened his account for the club with his first Premier League goal in a 1-0 victory over Wolves, giving him a foothold in Oliver Glasner's side as the season progressed. He went on to feature in the Conference League final triumph over Rayo Vallecano, coming off the bench in the showpiece match to help seal the trophy.
Remarkably, Guessand ended the campaign with two European winner's medals to his name. Before his move to Palace, he had featured for Aston Villa in the early rounds of the Europa League, a competition that Unai Emery's side went on to win outright, meaning the forward collected honours in two separate continental competitions in the same season despite representing two different clubs.
Guessand's rise did not go unnoticed internationally either. He was included in Ivory Coast's squad for this summer's World Cup, where he made two appearances off the bench for his national team, adding to a breakout year that saw him move from a struggling newcomer at Villa to a trophy-winning contributor at Palace.
Despite his impact during the loan spell, Palace did not exercise an option to sign him permanently during the summer transfer window, meaning Guessand returned to Aston Villa for pre-season training. His long-term future at Villa Park, however, appears to remain uncertain, and the renewed loan talks with Palace suggest both parties see value in revisiting the arrangement that worked so well in the second half of last season.
Should the deal go through, Guessand would return to a Palace squad that will be eager to build on last season's cup success and could benefit from a forward already familiar with the club's style of play under Glasner. For Aston Villa, sanctioning another loan move would represent an acknowledgment that Guessand's best route to regular football, at least in the short term, lies away from Villa Park.
Neither club has yet confirmed full details of the proposed loan, including whether any option or obligation to buy might be included this time around, but talks between the two parties are understood to be ongoing as Palace look to strengthen their attacking options ahead of the new campaign.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.