Everton sold £2m man now ‘the driving force’ at new club with 6 G/A in 8 games
Everton sold £2m man now ‘the driving force’ at new club with 6 G/A in 8 games
Niels Nkounkou, a former Everton and Premier League player, is still leaving his imprint in the Bundesliga as this all-action left-back
is developing into the “driving force” of this Eintracht Frankfurt team.
With an outstanding first season in the Bundesliga, three goals, three assists, and a nomination for Player of the Month in January, the
23-year-old Frenchman is undoubtedly displaying the talent that made Everton jump at the chance to sign Niels Nkounkou when his
Marseille contract expired back in 2020.
That being said, Nkounkou is not the final product. Not at all.
According to German publication Fussball News, Frankfurt’s recent 2-1 victory over surprise package FC Heidenheim included a few
“hari-kari” defensive situations. The report also states that Nkounkou still has “problems he has to fix” and that he continues to walk
the tightrope between “genius and madness.”
However, as the summer acquisition from St Etienne fired a shot into the Heidenheim goal, bringing his total goals or assists in the
Bundesliga to six, the visiting fans could be forgiven for thinking that, at least for the time being, the benefits far outweigh the
drawbacks as they got to their feet in celebration.
Nkounkou played for Everton in the Premier League just twice between 2020 and 2023.
After an impressive loan spell in France, the Toffees sold the former France Under 21 international to St Etienne. The now-Ligue 2
team did not waste any time in turning a healthy profit when Frankfurt called during that same window, putting a cool £7 million
down on Les Verts’ table.
And that £7 million investment will show to be extremely well spent if, as some have predicted, Nkounkou develops into the second
coming of Frankfurt legend Filip Kostic, a standout performer in their 2022 Europa League victory.
In retrospect, the £2 million St Etienne pays for Nkounkou looks very much on the light side, so it might be a bit unfair to say Everton
blew it when they let him depart Goodison Park.
After all, Nkounkou was positioned lower in the Toffees’ hierarchy than Vitaliy Mykolenko. And within the past 12 months or so,
Mykolenko has emerged as one of the Premier League’s most improved players.
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