2021/22 Niels Nkounkou

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I've posted a variation on this before.

Whatever the particulars of this loan with Nkonkou or this club, this is a situation - managing the growth of a young player on the cusp of a first-team role - that we've managed poorly recently.

I get the problem - do you have the player stay with the club, train with the first team, but only get limited minutes, or do you play him with the U23s which is crap competition, or do you loan him out, where he may or may not get good experience, and becomes unavailable if needed at our club.

It's tough, but if you look at the failures - Vlasic, Lookman, Kean, Small - we're not getting either good first teamers and we're not getting the value in sale that we could be.

Granted we managed the transition with DCL and Holgate and seem to be on the verge of doing it ok with Branthwaite and Gordon, but I just get a bad feeling that Nkonkou is neither going to play real first team minutes nor be sold for value.

To be fair, transitioning players from your youth team into the first team is a real problem if you're trying to compete at the top end of the league. Only the really outstanding ones go straight into the team.

If you look at Chelsea, they have Mason Mount, Reece James and Calum Hudson-Odoi all in or around the first team reckoning. James and Mount had to go out on loan before they were trusted as first team ready. CHO was integrated straight into the 1st team picture, but ironically isn't as close to the 1st XI as those other two.

I don't think it's an exact science, but clearly all players need proper first team football of some sort to develop. The fact we've loaned out Nkounkou says to me that we acknowledge that his minutes here would be v limited because of the presence of Digne but he needs them to kick on. Whether he comes back after this loan and is able to challenge for a more regular spot in the team, I don't know. He has a lot going for him - pace, a really good delivery and a willingness to get forward. He seems to have an awful lot to learn on the defensive side of the game, but perhaps that's not unexpected given he came here directly from Marseille's youth team, had never played any 1st team football and was a winger until a couple of years ago. Whether he eventually competes for a place in our team or not, I don't think loaning him out was necessarily the wrong thing to do, but I do think that not signing a different left back on loan to cover Digne this season was potentially a mistake.

There will be similar conversations to be had in the coming weeks/months about Gordon, Branthwaite, Simms and possibly Dobbin. They'll not gain much from not playing competitive games, so a January loan might be in our interests for at least Gordon, Branthwaite and Simms, all of whom have already been exposed to first team football at some level.
 
My mistake, started all 4 but subbed off in 3 of them -- I read the data incorrectly :(

So it looks like hes been brought in as a starter.

But why Belgium? Why not a team in League 1 where he starts every game and gets comfortable in England and confident?

Decent sized club Standard Liege but it just seems a bit odd to me.



Yes that would be good. Standard Liege is a perfect club for that of course so hopefully this is the first step.

I was getting slated for wanting Tielemans at Anderlecht and even after he went to Monaco, there are top players built in belgium.

Still though, for Nkounkou in the games he played he looked like a premier league player at 20 years old. Its a real Baningime situation where the kid comed in, looks decent and then hes gone.

I think its sometimes keeping lads happy sand developing to though, he will learn nothing sitting on the bench here in year 2, its questionable as its not a position we have a lot of depth but i dont mind him going out for development.

Tielemans will go on to one of the CL clubs, very uniuqe skillset especially to be able to do it in this league, we really did miss an opportunity with him, even when he was on loan.
 
From the little I've seen of him, I do not think he will make it. That being said, he is still very young and things might change so never say never.
 
I think digne is ok. But vastly over-rated on this forum.
He was the back up left back. Or so you would think.
We have no specialised full back cover left and right. Not sure how a club the size of Everton end up with that.
If he was banging on the door he wouldnt be going out on loan. For the reason he's not i see sense in the loan.
But we're 1 injury either side from playing fill in players.
Baines > Digne as much as I love Digne
 

Surely we need this lad back now?
Godfrey got by tonight but it's so easy to see he's playing out of position.
If the problem with Digne continues and with Mina injured, we're running out of defensive options and the square pegs in the round holes could become even more square.
 
Looking good on his Instagram page! ?
Plus he shared a photo tonight showing that he was watching the match.

But, social media nonsense apart, he's a left back and seeing as we really are short here I'd drive over there myself and bring him back to Goodison.
Has he been playing over in the Belge?
 

Noticed he's been dropped lately at standard liege. Who are having a terrible season and down by the relegation places.
Imagine that. Relegated with liege and Everton ?
 

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