Everton: Niels Nkounkou showing shades of Leighton Baines after footage emerges from last 24 hours
Everton loanee Niels Nkounkou continued his spectacular goalscoring run for Saint-Etienne with a piece of individual brilliance in their 2-0 win over Grenoble on Monday night (17 April).
The 22-year-old full-back is on his third temporary loan spell away from Goodison Park since last donning the Toffees top and hit the best form of his career while playing in Ligue 2.
His attacking contributions at the French outfit are quite staggering for a defender of his age, having scored five goals and registered seven assists in just 13 appearances since sealing his move in January.
Nkounkou’s strike on Monday was simply a thing of beauty, showing an attacking freedom that has been missing from Goodison Park since Leighton Baines, who himself managed to find the back of the net 33 times for the club.
Picking up the ball mid-way through the Grenoble half, the Everton loanee carved through the opposition defence like a hot knife through butter, beating four men before unleashing an unstoppable left-footed strike into the roof of the net.
Although Nkounkou’s form has come in the French second division, the likes of N’Golo Kante have proven that making the step up from the lower leagues to the Premier League isn’t an impossible task.
Frustratingly for Toffees fans, Score.fr reported on 5 April that Saint-Etienne have included a purchase option in his current loan deal – and considering his recent form, it would come as no surprise to see them initiate this clause.
However, with Vitalii Mykolenko and Ben Godfrey the only current options at Sean Dyche’s disposal in the left-back position, the potential sale of Nkounkou could be a massive mistake.
The young full-back has clearly shown a heap of promise at the Geoffrey Stadium, and goals of this calibre bring back memories of Baines strutting his stuff on the Goodison Park pitch.