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Evann Guessand was Nice's most-used outfield player last season
Senior football correspondent
Aston Villa have agreed a deal to sign Nice striker Evann Guessand for £26m plus £4.3m in add-ons.
The 24-year-old Ivory Coast forward scored 12 goals last term and was named player of the season as Nice finished fourth in France's Ligue 1.
He is expected to have a medical at Villa on Wednesday.
Guessand, who was a target for Crystal Palace, will be Villa's first major signing of the summer. He follows Yasin Ozcan, who joined from Kasimpasa but has been loaned to Anderlecht, and back-up goalkeeper Marco Bizot who arrived for an undisclosed fee from Brest.
Villa have been looking at striker options since January's departure of Jhon Duran to Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr left them with just Ollie Watkins as their only senior centre-forward. Marcus Rashford spent the second half of the season at Villa on loan but has joined Barcelona.
Guessand made his way through the youth ranks at Nice and signed a four-year contract last summer.
He made his debut for Ivory Coast in June 2024 and has nine caps.
Villa, who finished sixth last season to qualify for the Europa League, open their Premier League campaign at home to Newcastle United on Saturday, 16 August (12:30 BST).
