Leeds United and Sunderland are both showing strong interest in OGC Nice striker Evann Guessand, TBR Football can exclusively reveal.
Leeds and Sunderland are both faced with the unenviable task of attempting to stay in the Premier League as a newly-promoted side next term.
None of Leicester City, Ipswich Town or Southampton were able to manage that feat last season, and the bottom three were ultimately 13 points adrift.
But as they’ve demonstrated in the transfer window already this summer, both Leeds and Sunderland certainly have the ambition to buck that trend.
And in order to do so, both clubs are still searching for a new number nine, and Nice’s Guessand might ultimately be the answer.
Leeds and Sunderland want to sign Nice’s Evann Guessand
TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey understands that all of Leeds, Sunderland and Brentford are weighing up an offer for 24-year-old Guessand, who scored 12 goals in Ligue 1 last term.
24-year-old Guessand has 10 caps for Ivory Coast and has played his whole career in France thus far, aside from a season-long loan at Lausanne-Sport in Switzerland in 2020/21.
Photo by JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP via Getty Images
READ MORE: Aaron Ramsdale transfer update as Sunderland target England goalkeeper, but there’s a catch
Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce have been linked with a move for Guessand, but it’s understood that the striker’s intermediaries have also made contact with a host of other clubs.
TBR Football previously revealed that Leeds had made contact about signing Guessand last month.
Now, Guessand is expected to leave Nice this summer following his best campaign yet in France, and there is a lot of interest in the centre-forward.
And on the back of fresh interest from Brentford, Leeds and Sunderland, it’s understood that a move to England would appeal to Guessand, who is eager to find a new challenge over the coming months.
Leeds and Sunderland won’t survive in the Premier League without a goalscorer
Even with 15 goals from Jermain Defoe in the 2016/17 season, Sunderland weren’t able to survive the drop, finishing 20th in their last top flight campaign.
Similarly, Spanish star Rodrigo Moreno scored 13 goals for Leeds in their 2022/23 relegation season, demonstrating how important a reliable goalscorer can be.
Even with two regular contributors in Defoe and Rodrigo, neither Sunderland nor Leeds were able to survive the campaigns mentioned.
And with both now considering a move for Guessand, it has to be asked whether he is the calibre of striker able to keep a side in the Premier League.
ClubGamesGoalsGoal ratioOGC Nice109210.19FC Nantes4450.11Lausanne-Sport3570.20Guessand’s goal scoring record for each club in his career thus far.
Guessand has averaged around one goal every five games for Nice — but it should also be factored in that he’s spent a significant amount of time playing out wide.
And as mentioned, the 24-year-old saw a sharp improvement in his goalscoring last term — he has never previously hit double digits in a single campaign.
It was recently reported that Guessand might cost around £22m this summer, and it remains to be seen which English side will make the first move.