Unable to guarantee Niels Nkounkou time on the pitch at Everton, Rafa Benítez and his staff allowed the young left-back to find himself a new club for the season where he would play regularly.
Standard Liège in Belgium came forward to do just that, and while the defender struggled at first, the arrival of new manager Luka Elsner gave him a new lease of life, with the club unbeaten in five games in the league.
Four of those have been draws, but the Everton loanee was instrumental in their 1-0 win over KAS Eupen at the weekend, with DH in Belgium getting a chance to ask the 21-year-old a few questions about his adaptation over the past couple of months.
He said: “I’m taking everything I can take. I’m learning an enormous amount to come back stronger in my club. It wasn’t easy to change leagues. There was a need for time to adapt, which is now over”.
Bringing speed and penetration down the left flank, Nkounkou is quickly becoming a fan favourite with his new side, with Elsner helping unlock his abilities, allowing him to play the game the left-back ‘likes to play’ following a long conversation with the manager.
That’s great news for Everton, whose wish will have been exactly for this to happen: a young player getting lots of game time under a manager who believes in his abilities and gets the best out of him.
Whether Benítez decides to use Nkounkou next season remains to be seen, but he will at least be given food for thought if the loanee continues to shine in Belgium, a league the manager clearly respects, having bought Kalidou Koulibaly from KRC Genk back in 2014 when he was in charge of Napoli.
