Joseph N'Guessan

N'Guessan started his career at Glebe,[3] moving to fellow South London club Bromley, before joining Stevenage's academy.[2][4] A month into the 2012–13 season, having made no first-team appearances for Stevenage, he was loaned out to Conference South club Farnborough on a one-month loan agreement.[2] He made one appearance during the month, as a 63rd-minute substitute in a 3–0 home defeat to Welling United on 15 September 2012.[2][5] He then joined Southern League Division One Central club Biggleswade Town on a one-month loan deal 8 March 2013,[6] starting in Biggleswade's 3–2 away defeat to Aylesbury on 23 October 2012.[7] A move to Banbury United of the Southern League Premier Division on a one-month loan deal followed in January 2013, in order to gain further first-team experience.[8] He scored on his debut in Banbury's 2–0 away victory over Chippenham Town on 26 January 2013, a win that secured their first victory in eleven matches.[8] He made one further appearance during the loan spell,[9][10] before joining Conference North club Corby Town on another one-month deal.[11] He made his debut for Corby in a 1–0 victory over Stalybridge Celtic on 9 March 2013,[12] and went on to make five appearances during this loan spell.[2]

N'Guessan returned to Stevenage towards the end of the season, and made his first-team debut for the club as a 57th-minute substitute in a 2–0 defeat to Milton Keynes Dons at Broadhall Way on 27 April 2013.[13] He signed a one-year contract with the club on 13 June 2013, his first professional deal.[14] N'Guessan joined St Neots Town on loan for a month in October 2013, scoring on his debut in a 5–0 victory against Hitchin Town on 15 October 2013.[15] He made four appearances in all competitions during the agreement, scoring once.[15] He moved to Arlesey Town of the Southern League Premier Division in December 2013, managed by former Queens Park Rangers footballer Rufus Brevett.[15] After scoring six times in six matches during the month, which included two braces, the loan agreement was extended for a further month.[15] He played 12 times for Arlesey, scoring seven goals.[15] He returned to Stevenage and scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 victory against Walsall on 26 April 2014.[2]

Ahead of the start of the 2014–15 season, N'Guessan joined Conference Premier club Aldershot Town on loan until 2 January 2015.[4] He debuted for Aldershot as a 68th-minute substitute in a 3–1 victory against Altrincham on 9 August 2014.[2] He scored twice in 19 appearances during his time at Aldershot, before returning to Stevenage and making three substitute appearances in League Two in the opening two months of 2015.[2] He then joined St Albans City of the Conference South on 23 March 2015, on an agreement for the remainder of season.[2][16] N'Guessan scored once in five appearances during the loan.[2][15] He was released by Stevenage upon the expiry of his contract at the end of the season.[17]

Following his release from Stevenage, N'Guessan joined Championship club Queens Park Rangers (QPR) on a one-year contract on 15 June 2015.[18] He was placed in the club's Elite Development Squad.[18] QPR director of football Les Ferdinand stated that N'Guessan had been "identified with the future in mind".[18] He suffered a number of injuries during the season and was released by the club in the summer of 2016.[2][19]

After his departure from QPR, N'Guessan had a one-week trial with Kilmarnock, which was ultimately unsuccessful.[19] He was recommended to Maidstone United manager, Jay Saunders, and subsequently signed for the National League club in December 2016.[19] He made his debut as a late substitute in a 1–1 draw with Dover Athletic on 26 December 2016.[2] N'Guessan played three times for Maidstone, all of which as a substitute,[2] before being released on 31 January 2017.[20] Saunders stated he wanted to keep N'Guessan, but the arrival of striker Joe Pigott meant he had to release him.[20]

N'Guessan signed for Southern Counties East Premier Division club Cray Valley Paper Mills on 27 August 2017.[17] The 2017–18 season would serve as N'Guessan's first season of regular first-team football at one club, scoring 10 goals in 35 appearances.[17] He remained at Cray Valley for the 2018–19 season, scoring 13 goals in 27 appearances.[17] He helped the club reach the 2019 FA Vase Final during the season,[17] but missed the final through injury.[17][21] He sustained the injury in a match against Glebe.[21] Describing N'Guessan as a "massive part of the club the last 18 months",[21] Cray Valley manager Kevin Watson stated N'Guessan required an operation, which the PFA agreed to fund.[21] Having not played during the 2019–20 season, N'Guessan was included in Cray Valley's list of injured players on 4 January 2020.[22]