Sean Dyche will be thrilled by progress from Everton loanee Niels Nkounkou
Niels Nkounkou is making good progress for French club Saint-Etienne whilst on loan, and Everton boss Sean Dyche should be really happy with his progress.
The 22-year-old left-back joined the Toffees from Marseille in 2020 and has played for clubs like Standard Liege, Cardiff City, and now Saint-Etienne on loan.
He has made seven appearances for the Toffees already. His loan spell at Cardiff proved to be a disaster, but he has found his feet at the Ligue 2 club since joining them on loan in January.
The French defender is playing regularly for them, and he is gradually in confidence. He has made six appearances in the league, where he found the net once and registered three assists.
While he still needs to work on his work, Le Progres, reports that he has become a “formidable weapon” for the French side. He has found an ideal “piston” role at the club, and hence shining as a result.
Dyche will be very happy to hear nice things about him. The left-back is one area where Dyche will have to make a decision. Vitalli Mykolenko remains the first-choice but the club need a proper back-up.
Everton signed Ruben Vinagre during the summer on loan from Sporting but chances are very less that they will sign him permanently.
In that case, Dyche could give Nkounkou a chance to impress him in the first team, if he continues to enjoy a successful loan spell.
Nkounkou is showing a lot of promise and there’s no reason why he can’t get a fair chance to prove his talent in the pre-season.