Aston Villa swooped to sign England international Tammy Abraham to add more firepower to their squad during the January transfer window.
The former Chelsea number nine joined from Besiktas on a permanent deal to return for a second spell at Villa Park, having spent the 2018/19 campaign on loan in the Championship.
Abraham was denied a dream debut against Brentford last week after his goal was ruled out by VAR because the ball went out of play at the other end of the pitch in the build-up.
Unfortunately, Unai Emery only gave him nine minutes to impress off the bench in the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth away from home in the Premier League on Saturday.
Hopefully, though, Abraham will make a success of his second spell at Villa Park and go on to be a consistent and reliable goalscorer for the club in the second half of this season and beyond.
It will not take much, however, for the English centre-forward to be an upgrade on Evann Guessand, who may be the worst signing the club have ever made.
Why Guessand may be Villa’s worst ever signing
Villa splashed out a fee of £26m to sign the Ivorian attacker from French side Nice last summer, which placed him in the top ten most expensive signings in the club’s history.
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Of all the players in the top ten most expensive signings for Villa, Guessand has played the fewest matches in all competitions with 21 appearances for the Villans.
The 24-year-old flop scored two goals, which came against Go Ahead Eagles and Basel, in those 21 games in the first half of the season, failing to score a single goal in 13 Premier League outings.
After that dismal first six month, Villa decided to send him out on loan to Crystal Palace in January, and the Eagles have the option to make the move permanent in the summer.
This means that Guessand’s career at Villa Park could be over in the summer after just 12 months, 21 appearances, and zero Premier League goals, which is why there is a strong case to be made for him being their worst ever signing.
The Ivorian flop is not the only attacker who could leave the club at the end of the season, though, as another forward looks just as bad as him.
The first player Aston Villa should sell in the summer
Villa have already, technically, decided to sell Guessand by placing an option for Palace to sign him permanently as part of the loan deal, which means that there is another player who should be the first player to be sold in the summer.
Leon Bailey was brought back from his loan with Roma in January to add to Emery’s options on the wing, but he has endured a frustrating first few games back at Villa Park.
The club sent him out on loan to Roma after a dismal return of two goals in 38 appearances in all competitions in the 2024/25 campaign for the Villans, including one goal in 24 games in the Premier League and one goal in eight Champions League matches.
Bailey then failed to provide a single goal or assist in seven appearances in the Serie A for Roma in the first half of this season, which shows that a change of environment did not help him to rediscover his best form in front of goal.
A return to England also does not seem to have helped him, unfortunately, because he has struggled in his three Premier League outings for Villa in the last few weeks.
25/26 Premier League
Leon Bailey
Appearances
3
Shots on target
0
Goals
0
Key passes
3
xA
0.31
Big chances created
0
Assists
0
Dribbles
0
The Jamaica international is yet to land a shot on target or create a ‘big chance’ for the team since his return, and his form for Villa last season and Roma in the first half of the current campaign does not suggest that his performances are likely to improve by much.
Bailey was given a 4/10 player rating by Birmingham Mail’s John Townley, who criticised the forward’s poor decision-making, and that may be a fair score to describe his past 18 months.
Like Guessand was before his move to Villa, Bailey is currently an incredibly ineffective attacker who is not doing enough at the top end of the pitch to justify continued minutes.
That is why the left-footed dud, who was deemed surplus to requirements when he went out on loan last summer, should be the first player sold by Villa when the summer transfer window opens, unless he can turn things around in the next few months.
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