Everton defender Niels Nkounkou has revealed he asked to leave Cardiff City in the January transfer window and move to Saint Etienne.
The defender has been speaking to RMC Sport about his time at the French club so far after joining them in the January transfer window.
He has initially been on loan at Cardiff, joining them on loan from Everton in the summer in search of regular playing time.
However, he had begun to find himself out of the team towards the end of his time there and that led to it being ended in January and him joining Saint Etienne in Ligue 2.
He’s since established himself as a key player for the club, putting in a series of impressing performances and earning rave reviews from fans and journalists alike.
The regular playing time is proving to be beneficial for him and the Everton man admits he asked for a change in January.
“As everyone knows, my situation at Cardiff had started to become a bit complicated,” he told RMC Sport.
“At my age, I really needed to keep playing, so I asked to leave, and Saint-Etienne opened their doors to me. I didn’t really have a choice to make.
“I was motivated by the project of getting out of the situation they were in, so it wasn’t a complicated choice for me. Coming back to France was also a plus, so I’m happy of my choice and to be here.”
🎙 Ligue 2 @BKTtires
🗣💬 @NielsNkounkou : "J'étais motivé par le projet, ça n'a pas été un choix compliqué à faire de rejoindre Saint-Étienne. Revenir en France m'a également motivé."
— RMC Sport (@RMCsport) March 31, 2023
