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Niels Nkounkou

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Niels Nkounkou
Personal information
Full name Niels Patrick Nkounkou[1]
Date of birth (2000-11-01) 1 November 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth Pontoise, France
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s) Left-back
Team information
Current team
 Cardiff City (on loan from Everton)
Number 37
Youth career
2006–2015 Cergy Pontoise
2015–2016 Rouen
2016 Cergy Pontoise
2016–2017 Entente SSG
2017 Brest
2017–2019 Marseille
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017–2020 Marseille 0 (0)
2017–2020 Marseille II 43 (4)
2020– Everton 2 (0)
2021–2022 → Standard Liège (loan) 23 (0)
2022– → Cardiff City (loan) 14 (0)
International career‡
2018 France U18 1 (0)
2018 France U19 2 (0)
2021 France Olympic 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 5 November 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17:43, 25 July 2021 (UTC)

Niels Patrick Nkounkou (born 1 November 2000) is a French professional footballer who plays as a left-back for EFL Championship club Cardiff City, on loan from Premier League club Everton. He made his international debut for the France Olympic team at Tokyo 2020.

Club career

Early career

Nkounkou started his career with Cergy Pontoise, 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.[3]

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.[4][5] 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.[6]

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.[7] 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.[8]

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 one match ban.[9] He made his second league appearance in the last day of the season when Everton suffered a 5–0 defeat to Manchester City on 23 May 2021.[10]

International career

Born in France, Nkounou is of Republic of Congo descent.[11] He has represented France and has been capped twice for the country’s U19 side.[12] In July 2021, Nkounkou received a call up to the France Olympics squad, who will face Japan, South Africa and Mexico in Group A of the tournament.[13] He subsequently made his debut for France U23 when they played South Africa in the second tournament match on 25 July 2021.

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."[14] 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.”[12]

Career statistics

As of 10 April 2022
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Marseille II 2017–18[15] Championnat National 2 8 2 — — — 8 2
2018–19[15] Championnat National 2 21 1 — — — 21 1
2019–20[15] Championnat National 2 14 1 — — — 14 1
Total 43 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 43 4
Marseille 2019–20[15] Ligue 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Everton 2020–21[16] Premier League 2 0 1 0 3 0 — 6 0
2021–22[17] Premier League 0 0 0 0 1 0 — 1 0
Total 2 0 1 0 4 0 0 0 7 0
Standard Liège (loan) 2021–22 Belgian First Division A 23 0 2 0 — — 25 0
Career total 63 4 1 0 4 0 0 0 68 4

References

  1. ^ "2020/21 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Niels Nkounkou: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Nkounkou's Pride Over Ancelotti Conversation". Evertonfc.com. 29 August 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Who is Niels Nkounkou? Lowdown on latest Everton and Marcel Brands signing". Liverpool Echo. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Ancelotti factor convinces player to turn down Juventus for Everton – Blues believe he 'embodies the future'". SportWitness. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Agent explains Ancelotti and other factors behind player's decision to pick Everton". SportWitness. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Everton fans react to Niels Nkounkou performance against Salford". TBR Football. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ "Ancelotti should hand Niels Nkounkou his Everton debut". 31 October 2020.
  10. ^ "Man City 5-0 Everton: A day to remember for City fans after a decade of Sergio Aguero". BBC Sport. 23 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Football, le week-end des Diables rouges et des Congolais de la diaspora en France (CFA) | adiac-congo.com : toute l'actualité du Bassin du Congo". www.adiac-congo.com.
  12. ^ a b "What we know about new Everton signing Niels Nkounkou". Royal Blue Mersey. 3 July 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  13. ^ "Here Are The 13 Premier League Players At The Tokyo Olympics". Forbes. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  14. ^ "Player Profile:Niels Nkounkou". Toffeeweb. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  15. ^ a b c d "N. Nkounkou: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  16. ^ "Games played by Niels Nkounkou in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  17. ^ "Games played by Niels Nkounkou in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
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