Everton: Journalist stunned by footage of ‘incredible’ loanee Niels Nkounkou after what he did in past 72-hours
Niels Nkounkou is having an “incredible” loan in France, according to Robin Bairner, as the journalist was blown away by the Everton man’s long-range strike at the weekend.
The 22-year-old full-back is on his third temporary spell away from Goodison Park since last featuring for the club, and is thriving the French second tier with Saint-Etienne, having spent the first half of the season at Cardiff in the Championship.
His attacking statistics in the brief time he has spent back in his home country are highly impressive, and he scored twice more in a 4-2 win over Paris FC in an advanced role on the left flank on Saturday (8 April), with one strike highlighted by former Football Transfers and GOAL journalist Bairner.
Relaying footage of Nkounkou scoring from approximately 40-yards he wrote on Twitter Sunday (9 April): “Everton’s Niels Nkounkou is having an *incredible* loan spell at Saint-Etienne.
“12 Apps, 4 goals, 7 assists.
“Reminder: he’s a left-back. He did this yesterday.”
Success
It doesn’t look like Nkounkou is destined to be a regular back at Everton unless this latest temporary move is seen as the spark that signifies he is ready to step up.
A permanent exit seems the most likely solution to his future, and given Score.fr reported on 5 April that Saint-Etienne have included a purchase option in his loan deal his current form surely suggests they are likely to take it up.
Getting some sort of return for some of the peripheral members of the Toffees squad is going to be crucial going forward as Sean Dyche looks to strengthen where he feels he needs it while the club deals with a looming Premier League charge.
Vitalii Mykolenko has lost his place as the regular first-team left-back to converted centre-back Ben Godfrey in recent weeks, so it may be that the former Burnley boss will look to make a change at the position in the summer.
Perhaps the door is therefore ajar for him to consider Nkounkou, but based on just seven senior appearance for the club before regular loans away over the past two seasons, a modest transfer fee for a player with one year remaining on his contract seems like a decent outcome.
He is clearly proving effective at the Geoffroy Stadium, and goals from 40-plus yards will only make him more likely to remain there longer-term.