Everton defender Niels Nkounkou has detailed how former Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti managed to convince him to move to the club in 2020.
The defender has been speaking to Ligue 2 about his career so far as he enjoys a loan spell at AS Saint-Étienne, who he joined in the January transfer window.
The move back to France is one of a few away from Everton in recent years, with him also spending time with Cardiff and Standard Liege in the last two seasons.
He joined the Toffees in 2020 on a free transfer from Marseille after his contract with the Ligue 1 side came to an end.
He was Everton’s, and Carlo Ancelotti’s, first signing of the 2020 summer transfer window and initially featured under him that year, making six appearances in all competitions for the Italian.
He only managed one appearance under his successor Rafa Benitez, though, before being shipped out on loan last season and then again this year.
His future now appears to be away from Merseyside and when discussing the initial move, he detailed how the Italian was key to the switch.
“I had a lot of proposals to sign my first professional contract, starting with OM of course, but I also had Everton and several French and foreign clubs,” he said.
“But one day, I received a phone call from Carlo Ancelotti and that changed everything. He told me about the sports project he saw for me, how he wanted me to become a top player. I very much appreciated his speech.
“He told me that he was going to teach me a lot defensively, in the area where I had the most shortcomings, in positioning, and that he was going to help me correct that.
“Carlo also told me that I was going to be the number 3 left-back behind Lucas Digne and Leighton Baines. But in the end, Leighton decided to hang up his boots and it was I who found myself behind Lucas, someone who helped me enormously in my adaptation.
“As we were both French, it was easier. And he’s an international so I learned a lot from him. When you’re in contact with people like Lucas Digne or Carlo Ancelotti, a coach who made history and continues to make history, you learn faster. For all these reasons, I am happy to have chosen Everton.”
