Niels Nkounkou
Niels Patrick Nkounkou is a French professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Italian club Torino on loan from German club Eintracht Frankfurt. He made his international debut for the France Olympic team at Tokyo 2020.
Club career
Early career
Nkounkou started his career with Cergy Pontoise, coming through the club's youth ranks. He signed for Ligue 1 giants Marseille in 2017. As a promising youngster, Nkounkou played regularly for Marseille's B team, routinely training with the senior side and featuring on the bench twice for the first team during the [2019–20 Olympique de Olympique de Marseille|Marseille season|2019–20 season].Everton
Nkounkou joined Everton on a free transfer in July 2020, signing a three-year deal, after rejecting a professional contract from Marseille due to the sporting plan proposed by the French club wasn't convincing for the defender and his future development. The opportunity of working under Carlo Ancelotti convinced Nkounkou to join the Toffees. Nkounkou's agent Yvan Le Mée stressed that Ancelotti called the player, spoke to him, and knew the player's potential. By working with the player, Ancelotti can make him a top player.Nkounkou made his professional debut for Everton in a 3–0 EFL Cup victory against Salford City in which he impressed immensely, forming an effective attacking partnership down the left hand side of the pitch with fellow youngster Anthony Gordon. He put in another positive display in his second match, also in the EFL Cup, against Fleetwood Town which he capped with a back-heeled assist to set up a goal for Moise Kean in a 5–2 victory.
Nkounkou played his first league game for Everton on 1 November 2020 against Newcastle United, a game Everton lost 2–1. He replaced teammate Lucas Digne who was serving a one match ban. He made his second league appearance in the last day of the season when Everton suffered a 5–0 defeat to Manchester City on 23 May 2021.