After just one conversation with Unai Emery, he was convinced that somewhere had to be Villa.
“When you speak with a coach, you can see how your future will be with a club,” he says.
“When I spoke with this coach (Emery), we spoke about football. His football, is my football. After that, there was no question of another choice.”
Guessand, who completed a move to Villa from Nice earlier this month for an initial £23.5million, was certainly not short of options.
A breakthrough season, in which he scored 13 goals in all competitions to help the French club finish fourth in the league, had caught the attention of clubs from across Europe and beyond.
Crystal Palace were among several other Premier League suitors, while there was also a lucrative offer from Saudi Arabia.
But as becomes clear during a chat at Villa’s Bodymoor Heath training ground, for what is his first newspaper interview since joining the club, Guessand’s primary motivation is not money but the desire to improve and maximise his potential.
Working with Emery, he believes, provides the best opportunity to do that after a transfer he describes as the “most important” step of his career to date.
“The first thing you do after finishing a season is first go on holiday and refresh your mind,” says Guessand.
“When I came back I was like: ‘OK, what is the next step for me?’
“I want to improve, always I want to be better. This (Villa) was the best opportunity for me to improve.
“When I see the players here, the quality and how they have improved themselves.
“I remember some of them from years ago and now how they are with this coach, the work he is doing with them. I want to be the same.”
Emery’s reputation as a football obsessive is well-known and in Guessand he may have found a kindred spirit.
It is only at toward the end of our chat the 24-year-old confesses playing video games as his one other interest.