Niels Nkounkou latest as Everton clause explained and…

Niels Nkounkou latest as Everton clause explained and 'transfer list' rumours clarified

Everton have yet to make a decision on Niels Nkounkou’s future with the club believing he could still be a bright prospect for the years to come.

Nkounkou is currently on-loan to Saint-Etienne back in his native France and a report from Homme du Match claimed Everton will place the 22-year-old on the transfer list this summer but the Ligue 2 outfit will struggle to find the €3million required to make his move a permanent switch. The Loire outfit have won the French title a joint record 10 times along with Olympique Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain but have fallen on hard times in recent years, culminating in their relegation last season.

The ECHO understands Saint-Etienne do have an option to buy Nkounkou, who came on as a 64th minute substitute in France Under-21s goalless draw with Spain in Vannes on Tuesday night, but it has been set relatively high as Everton think he has potential. Snapped up by Marcel Brands on a free transfer in July 2020 after his contract at Marseille, where he played 43 times for the B team, had expired, a personal call from Carlo Ancelotti convinced the left-back to come to Goodison Park. Operating as an understudy to compatriot Lucas Digne in 2020/21, Nkounkou made half a dozen first team appearances.

After a solitary outing under Rafael Benitez on the left hand side of midfield in a 3-4-3 formation for a 2-1 Carabao Cup win at Huddersfield Town on August 24, 2021, he made the first of what have now been three loan spells away, joining Standard Liege for the remainder of the campaign and playing 25 times for the Belgian side. Nkounkou’s initial three-year contract at Everton was due to expire in 2023 but he penned a new deal until 2024 before being loaned out to Cardiff City last August.

Despite making 13 appearances in a row for the Championship side and 18 in total, he fell out of favour in the Welsh capital from mid-December onwards and was recalled by Everton on January 14 so he could be loaned out again to Saint-Etienne. Nkounkou has now played 10 matches for Les Verts but with the team currently 12^th in the 20 club division, a first time promotion back to the top flight seems an unlikely prospect.

Everton’s own status for next season is of course still not confirmed as they fight to avoid what would be the club’s first relegation in 72 years with new manager Sean Dyche still assessing his options. Vitalii Mykolenko has been first choice left-back for most of the season so far but Ben Godfrey has started in the position for the last matches.

Ruben Vinagre, who director of football Kevin Thelwell knew from his Wolverhampton Wanderers days, was brought in on-loan from Sporting CP last July with an option to buy but given that he has made just two substitute appearances in the Premier League and hasn’t figured at all since the humiliating 4-1 Carabao Cup exit at Bournemouth in November, the Portuguese player’s chances of securing a permanent switch to Everton look slim.

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