The ‘new Didier Drogba' being chased by eight Premier League clubs
It was no surprise Paris St-Germain's Achraf Hakimi was named as the best African player in France's Ligue 1. After all the Moroccan is probably the finest right-back in the world.
What should gain more attention is who finished second in the Marc-Vivien Foe Award. Meet 23-year-old sensation Evann Guessand. At least eight Premier League clubs, including some of those vying to qualify for the Champions League, have shown interest in buying him.
The Ivory Coast international, who has been likened to his hero Didier Drogba, is the second highest-rated forward in French football right now behind PSG's prolific Ousmane Dembélé.
Guessand plays for Nice, where he has been spearheading their bid to qualify for the Champions League. The chances are, though, that he will not be there next season. There was strong interest in him in January from the Premier League and that is only expected to intensify dramatically this summer.
In fact the scouting department at every Premier League club is aware of Guessand's potential and have discussed him. How highly he is rated has been flagged by their scouts and through the data. The interest from Aston Villa and West Ham United has already been reported but there are at least six other Premier League clubs hovering.
There is also competition from half a dozen Bundesliga clubs, but the expectation is that Guessand would prefer a move to England, with a fee of up to €40 million (£33.4 million) being mooted. In today's inflated market it is a deal that appears highly attractive.
Along with 22-year-old Hugo Ekitike, the France Under-21 international who plays for Eintracht Frankfurt, and Porto's Samu Aghehowa, who is just 21, Guessand is regarded as one of Europe's best young attacking talents.
There is also Jonathan David, a little older at 25, who is set to leave Lille when his contract expires at the end of this season – with top Italian clubs Inter Milan or Juventus believed to be the Canada international's most likely destination although, again, there is strong interest from the Premier League.
But it is Guessand who is creating the greatest buzz. In fact, Lille had hoped to sign him to replace David, but bigger clubs are now in the bidding.
Guessand, who was born in Ajaccio and played for France at youth level before opting to switch to the African nation, is strong and direct and has been likened to Drogba. There is a photograph of the two meeting, four years ago in the Ivorian city of Abidjan, where they had dinner together and they have stayed in touch ever since.
In fact Guessand, who started in the Nice academy as a left winger at the age of 13, is described as something of a 'sponge', in terms of his desire to learn and improve. Famously, he would shoot a ball against a wall for hours having heard that it was a routine Dimitar Berbatov used to improve his touch.
Drogba has become something of a sounding board for Guessand. 'When you receive advice from a striker as physical as him, you listen,' Guessand said, although scouts have often likened his style to a mix of Drogba and another former Chelsea striker, Nicolas Anelka, as he also prefers to drop deeper to be involved in the play and not just be an out-and-out No 9.
In fact he has, with his dynamism and desire to cover the distance, been likened to Villa's Morgan Rogers, who is set to become a key player for England under Thomas Tuchel.
There were offers last summer and not least from Francesco Farioli, who left Nice for Ajax and wanted Guessand to join him at the Dutch Eredivisie club, hailing him as a 'fantastic player and an incredible person'. Vincent Kompany, now Bayern Munich's coach, tried to sign him for Anderlecht in 2021 and then, two years later, for Burnley. Kompany is among the coaches who has continued to track Guessand's progress.
Despite scoring 12 goals and with nine assists and having been third in the number of minutes played in Ligue 1, Guessand fell out of favour in recent weeks, which may also suggest he is leaving. Even so, last week he was also named the club's player of the season and is undoubtedly Nice's most valuable asset. The club are aware of his ambitions and will not stand in his way if the right offer is made.
Coach Franck Haise has left him out but denied it was because he feared the player's attention was elsewhere. 'We know that Evann will be one of the players who is highly sought after… like other French clubs we have to sell to buy this summer,' Haise protested.
Guessand was, however, brought back for Nice's final league game of the season on Saturday and played a key role – with a goal and an assist – as they secured a Champions League place by beating Brest.
The 'next chapter', according to those who know him, is for Guessand to play abroad and the Premier League is his dream destination. In what is set to be an extremely busy summer for English clubs, Guessand is set to emerge as one of the key transfer targets.
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