Niels Nkounkou should be ‘very disappointed’ after being left out for Everton’s 1-0 Premier League defeat to Leeds United on Saturday, former Toffees defender Michael Ball told the Liverpool Echo.
When the news broke that assist-machine Lucas Digne was set to miss the rest of the year with injury, the immediate reaction was to assume that a 20-year-old summer signing would be thrown in at the deep end as his replacement.
After all, ex-Marseille starlet Nkounkou appeared to have taken on the ‘Leighton Baines role’ as a backup for arguably the league’s finest left-back.
He started the last time Digne was unavailable – November’s 2-1 loss at Newcastle United – while shining in the odd EFL Cup outing.
So imagine the surprise when Nkounkou was nowhere to be seen on Saturday, as Marcelo Bielsa’s exhaustion-inducing Leeds side won at Goodison Park for the first time in 30 years thanks to a razer-sharp Raphinha strike.
Homegrown attacker Gordon was also omitted from the matchday squad, having played just 32 minutes of football this season.
“I was very surprised that Niels Nkounkou and Anthony Gordon in particular don’t seem to be part of the Everton squad at the minute,” said Ball, who made over 100 Premier League appearances for Everton between 1996 and 2001.
“If I was them (sic) two, I’d be very disappointed. It did concern me that they weren’t even on the bench.
“I’d look at myself in the mirror and say that there’s an opportunity there for me to show the manager what I’m all about – what am I not doing in training?
“Nkounkou might not have started and that’s fair enough, but not being in the squad suggests he’s not doing something in training.
“I had Andy Hinchcliffe and Terry Phelan, both internationals, in front of me! Nkounkou has no-one at the minute so I would be angry if I was him. But it’s about how he reacts to that.”
Alex Iwobi produced arguably his finest Everton performance as a right-wing back in last week’s 3-2 win at Fulham but failed to repeat the trick on the left against Leeds.
Will Ancelotti put his faith in Nkounkou, the only other natural left-back in his squad, against Burnley next time out?
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