Niels Nkounkou

Niels Patrick Nkounkou (born 1 November 2000) is a French professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Premier League club Everton.

Niels Nkounkou
Personal information
Full name Niels Patrick Nkounkou[1]
Date of birth (2000-11-01) 1 November 2000
Place of birth Pontoise, France
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Left-back
Club information
Current team
 Everton
Number 18
Youth career
2006–2015 Cergy Pontoise FC
2015–2016 Rouen
2016 Cergy Pontoise FC
2016–2017 L'Entente SSG
2017 Brest
2017–2019 Marseille
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2020 Marseille II 43 (4)
2019–2020 Marseille 0 (0)
2020– Everton 1 (0)
National team‡
2018 France U18 1 (0)
2018 France U19 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:27, 1 November 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 6 September 2020

Career

Early career

Nkounkou started his career with French club Cergy Pontoise FC, coming through the club’s youth ranks. He signed for Ligue 1 giants Marseille in 2017. As a promising youngster, Nkounkou played regularly for Marseille’s B team, routinely training with the senior side and featuring on the bench twice for the first team during the 2019–20 season.[2]

Everton

Nkounkou joined Everton on a free transfer in July 2020, signing a three-year deal, after rejecting a professional contract from Marseille due to the sporting plan proposed by the French club wasn’t convincing for the defender and his future development.[3][4] The opportunity of working under Carlo Ancelotti convinced Nkounkou to join the Toffees. Nkounkou’s agent Yvan Le Mée stressed that Ancelotti called the player, spoke to him, and knew the player’s potential. By working with the player, Ancelotti can make him a top player.[5]

Nkounkou made his professional debut for Everton in a 3–0 EFL Cup victory against Salford City in which he impressed immensely, forming an effective attacking partnership down the left hand side of the pitch with fellow youngster Anthony Gordon.[6] He put in another positive display in his second match, also in the EFL Cup, against Fleetwood Town which he capped with a back-heeled assist to set up a goal for Moise Kean in a 5–2 victory.[7]

Nkounkou played his first league game for Everton on 1 November 2020 against Newcastle United, a game Everton lost 2-1. He replaced teammate Lucas Digne who was serving a 1 match ban. [8]

International career

Nkounkou has represented France and has been capped twice for the country’s U19 side.[9]

Style of play

Upon the signing of Nkounkou, Everton Director of Football, Marcel Brands said "Niels is a young, talented player with good technical and physical skills."[10] Jeremy Smith, a French football writer and podcaster at French Football Weekly, believed that “Nkounkou is a well-regarded young left-back who can also play further up the left flank is a little like a Benjamin Mendy in that he is strong, has a great engine and can patrol the whole flank all match and has a decent shot and cross on him too.”[11]

Career statistics
As of match played 9 January 2021
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup[lower-alpha 1] Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Marseille II 2017–18[12] Championnat National 2 82———82
2018–19[12] Championnat National 2 211———211
2019–20[12] Championnat National 2 141———141
Total 434000000434
Marseille 2019–20[12] Ligue 1 000000—00
Everton 2020–21[13] Premier League 101030—50
Career total 444103000484
  1. Includes EFL Cup

References
  1. "2020/21 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  2. "Nkounkou's Pride Over Ancelotti Conversation". Evertonfc.com. 29 August 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  3. "Who is Niels Nkounkou? Lowdown on latest Everton and Marcel Brands signing". Liverpool Echo. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  4. "Ancelotti factor convinces player to turn down Juventus for Everton – Blues believe he 'embodies the future'". SportWitness. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  5. "Agent explains Ancelotti and other factors behind player's decision to pick Everton". SportWitness. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  6. "Everton fans react to Niels Nkounkou performance against Salford". TBR Football. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  7. "Everton beat Fleetwood in a lively Carabao Cup game to set up a fourth-round tie against West Ham". BBC. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  8. "Ancelotti should hand Niels Nkounkou his Everton debut". 31 October 2020.
  9. "What we know about new Everton signing Niels Nkounkou". Royal Blue Mersey. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  10. "Player Profile:Niels Nkounkou". Toffeeweb. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  11. "What we know about new Everton signing Niels Nkounkou". Royal Blue Mersey. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  12. "N. Nkounkou: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  13. "Games played by Niels Nkounkou in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
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