Former Everton defender Michael Ball believes Jonjoe Kenny and Niels Nkounkou may have to consider a move away from Goodison Park if they cannot secure a first-team place, as he told the Liverpool Echo.
When the news broke that Lucas Digne would be missing until the New Year thanks to an ill-timed injury, the expectation was that an exciting youngster snapped up from Marseille over the summer would be thrown in at the deep end.
But, despite sparkling performances in the EFL Cup and the fact that he is the only other left-back in Carlo Ancelotti’s roster, Nkounkou has been unable to force his way into the Italian’s XI.
The Frenchman has been left out of the squad for each of the last five Premier League games, with Ancelotti opting instead to shove square pegs (see Alex Iwobi and Ben Godfrey) into a round hole with rather mixed results.
“(Nkounkou) has been obsolete the last few weeks. As fans, we don’t see the players every day like Ancelotti does and we can’t see him in training but, speaking as a left-back, it’s been pretty disappointing,” Ball explained.
Another young full-back, Scouse-born Kenny, has also fallen down the pecking order with the versatile Godfrey filling in on the right-hand side during Seamus Coleman’s absence.
Since returning from an impressive loan spell at Schalke, Kenny has played just 77 minutes of league football in Everton blue.
“Jonjoe Kenny will look at himself in the mirror – and it isn’t just him, it’s Niels Nkounkou too – and be asking the question: ‘Why am I not part of this?’
“Perhaps they could potentially look at a loan for Nkounkou or for Jonjoe to find a career path elsewhere.”
Ancelotti talked up Kenny’s talents after a 3-0 cup victory over Salford City in September. But, three months on, it seems the academy graduate may need to fly the nest in order to get a promising career back on track.
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