“I wanted to return’… Former Everton player who just like Richarlison left Everton on a betrayal mode expresses regret over his exit(Read full story in the comment section)

‘I wanted to return’… Former Everton player expresses regret over his exit in 2023Photo by Paul Greenwood
‘I wanted to return’… Former Everton player expresses regret over his exit in 2023

Everton are a club that currently have few prospects at all, with the Bramley-Moore Dock stadium a sole shining light amidst all the darkness.

And yet, even that has its downsides, with there being no true source of complete positivity for the blue half of Merseyside at the moment.

With a questionable takeover with no end in sight, and PSR problems which have plagued their entire season, the steady regression of this once-great institution has been so sad to see.

Now, even former players are coming out to speak about the state of the club, with Niels Nkounkou the latest.

Niels Nkounkou lifts the lid on his Everton exit
Speaking to Peuple Vert, relayed by Sport Witness, the French defender has sought to detail the reasons behind his permanent Everton exit last summer.

Having been signed by Carlo Ancelotti, there was a quiet confidence that he would be the long-term successor to Lucas Digne, as an athletic and attack-minded young full-back.

Everton v West ham United – Carabao Cup Fourth Round
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However, things took a turn, and the financial crisis that emerged at Goodison Park forced the club’s hands.

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Nkounkou has noted: ‘As I explained, when I arrived at Sainté, it was a loan with an option to buy.

‘But the option put by Everton was so high that Sainté couldn’t buy it, knowing that they didn’t know if they were going to maintain themselves. They had money problems.

‘They said to me: ‘You know what? The option is there, we have to accept it, but under no circumstances are we going to mention it or lift it.’

Everton Training Session
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‘Then the director comes to see me: ‘Niels, end of season, we’re lifting the option.’

‘They tell me: ‘Given what you’re doing, we’re going to tell each other, if we don’t raise the option, we’re going to look like crazy people! Because we’re going to let a player go like that.’

‘I think Everton had put the option at €2.5 million. At that time, I wanted to return to Everton. Before signing the loan at Sainté, I extended with Everton.’

Niels Nkounkou was expected to be an Everton star
When he burst onto the scene with Everton, although only in the EFL Cup, fans were enamoured by what seemed like a really shrewd piece of business.

After all, brought in for nothing, they had acquired a French youth international with dynamism and skill in bucketloads.

It was expected that, under Ancelotti’s guidance and alongside Digne, his technical assets would evolve accordingly.

Liverpool v Everton: Premier League
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Few could have predicted how that would all fall apart.

The Italian manager was the first to leave, taking up the vacant Real Madrid manager’s post in which he remains today.

Then saw Digne depart, with Rafa Benitez offloading their most creative asset just months after he had forced James Rodriguez out too.

And then saw Nkounkou finally leave, forced out due to the PSR firestorm that was brewing.

This saga offers a sad microcosm of the decline this club has overseen in the last few years.