OGC Nice are on a seven-game unbeaten run in Ligue 1 and have only lost twice in the league so far.
However, many draws have hurt them this season, putting them sixth on the table—12 points behind leaders PSG and six points behind second-placed Monaco.
One of the few positives this season for them has been the rise of Evann Guessand.
The 23-year-old has played the second-most minutes for the club and has six goals to his name — only one behind his best-ever tally in his senior career.
The visualisation below highlights the numbers and shows where he ranks for some of the key metrics compared with the other centre-forwards from Europe’s top-five leagues.
Evann Guessand Radar Map
Among centre-forwards who have played for at least 500 minutes in Ligue 1 this season, only Jonathan David (0.66) ranks higher for Non-Penalty Goals per 90 than Guessand (0.53).
With 4.61 dribbles per 90, Guessand is a good ball dribbler, especially considering his height.
This probably explains why he also, at times, plays as a right-winger for Nice.
One of his weaknesses has been his aerial ability, with the forward winning only 39% of his aerial duels.
He also ranks lower for touches in the opposition penalty area per 90 minutes, but that is probably because he drops deep when he plays as a centre-forward and, at times, as a winger.
Nice are unbeaten in the five games that Guessand has scored so far and have won 4/5 of those games.
Four of his six goals have also come during Nice’s recent unbeaten run, and Guessand has played a part (six goals, two assists) in one-third of Nice’s goals (21).
Having been part of Nice’s academy since 2014, Guessand’s integration into the senior team has been gradual.
He spent a loan spell with Lausanne-Sport during the 2020/21 season, and the Ivorian has also not started more than 15 games in his senior Nice career so far but looks well on track to beat that number.
His excellent start to the season has put him on the watchlist of several European clubs.
His goal now should be to finish the season well with Nice before he attracts the interest of several clubs during the summer.
