Everton: Niels Nkounkou speaks out after ‘crazy’ Goodison Park exit last summer
Former Everton defender Niels Nkounkou has shared his disappointment after signing for Saint-Etienne in the summer of 2023.
The full-back initially joined the French team on a six-month loan after a less-than-ideal spell with Cardiff City in the Championship, before Saint-Etienne triggered a clause to make the deal permanent.
It was clearly not a move that worked out for the young defender, who played one match in France before signing for Eintracht Frankfurt just two months later.
Speaking to Peuple Vert on Tuesday (9 April), he said: “When I arrived at Sainté, it was a loan with an option to buy.
“But the option put by Everton was so high that Sainté couldn’t buy it, knowing that they didn’t know if they were going to maintain themselves. They had money problems.
“They said to me: ‘You know what? The option is there, we have to accept it, but under no circumstances are we going to mention it or lift it.’ Then the director comes to see me: ‘Niels, end of season, we’re lifting the option.’
“They tell me: ‘Given what you’re doing, we’re going to tell each other, if we don’t raise the option, we’re going to look like crazy people because we’re going to let a player go like that.’
“I think Everton had put the option at €2.5 million. At that time, I wanted to return to Everton. Before signing the loan at Sainté, I extended with Everton.
“In this case, it was really to make an added value. So I said to the director: ‘You exercise the option, I’m not playing anymore, I’m stopping playing.’ At that time, I wanted to go back to Everton.”
Niels Nkounkou suffers tough journey after Everton exit
Of course, any player who departs a Premier League club will be disappointed, especially if it turns out this poorly at the next club. It will hurt more that the club were fine with him leaving.
However, Nknounkou was always going to struggle at Goodison Park, with Vitalii Mykolenko making the left-back spot his own since arriving from Dynamo Kyiv in 2021.
The now-23-year-old only managed to make seven senior appearances for the Toffees, having been sent out on loan to Standard Liege, Cardiff City and Saint-Etienne in his time in Merseyside.
Despite moving onto the Bundesliga last summer, the Frenchman still looks to be struggling to hold down a position in a starting XI, having made just 11 league starts for Frankfurt.
Nkounkou certainly looks to be an attacking danger, though, boasting three goals and two assists over 23 total appearances, something that Sean Dyche might have approved of if given the opportunity to prove himself.
In other Everton news, Tim Sherwood has been raging at a controversy from Goodison Park with “stupid” footage emerging.
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