Niels NkounkouNice logo

Niels NkounkouLM#27

Nice·Ligue 1 logoLigue 1·Defender - Left-Back

25 years(01/11/2000)1,80mleftFrance, CongoContract until 30/06/2027

6.86Rating14 matches in 12 months
€2.60mMarket value#16 in Nice · #262 in Ligue 1

Last 5rating per match

Serie A24.115.8
Serie A30.116.7
Serie A08.126.9
Serie A27.126.9
Coppa Italia04.026.9

Form, 12 monthsaverage rating per month

6.20Nov
6.90Dec
Jan
6.90Feb
7.20Mar
Apr
6.90May
Jun
6.80Jul
Aug
7.20Sep
6.80Oct

Club matchesNice

Key statsLigue 1

Goals013 of 56Rank
xG0.0031 of 46Rank
Assists015 of 56Rank
xA0.0010 of 56Rank
Shots30.67 / 9023 of 50Rank
Shots on target267%6 of 50Rank
Key passes20.45 / 9024 of 55Rank
Pass accuracy77.1%

xG — expected goals: the quality of the chances taken; xA — expected assists: the quality of the chances created. Values per 90 minutes are shown under the totals. Rank: place among defenders — Ligue 1, season 26/27. What xG, npxG, xA and xGChain mean

Player profileattributes and traits

ATTACKING52TECHNIQUE56TACTICAL52DEFENDING61CREATIVITY61

Player Position average

Attacking52
Technique56
Tactical52
Defending61
Creativity61

Strengths

No outstanding strengths

Weaknesses

No outstanding weaknesses

Player positions: ML · DL

Positions on the pitch

LMLBAttack →

Percentiles per 90per 90 minutes vs positional peers of the league

AttackingPer 90 · Percentile

Goals0.0039%
xG0.0342%
Shots0.6759%
Shots on target0.4592%
Conversion %038%
Big chances missed0.2212%
Dribbles0.8983%
Fouls won0.6757%
Offsides0.2210%

PlaymakingPer 90 · Percentile

Assists0.0037%
xA0.1487%
Key passes0.4554%
Big chances created0.2282%
Accurate passes24.125%
Pass accuracy %77.15%
Final third passes7.1565%
Long balls2.0156%
Crosses0.2248%

DefendingPer 90 · Percentile

Tackles3.13100%
Interceptions1.7982%
Clearances2.4627%
Blocks0.2214%
Aerial duels won1.1243%
Duels won5.8191%
Recoveries4.6973%
Dribbled past1.792%
Fouls1.797%
Errors leading to goal0.0056%

What a percentile means

The percentile shows what share of players of the same position in this league the player beats on a per-90-minute metric. 90% — better than nine out of ten peers; 50% — the league median. Per 90 minutes removes the effect of playing time.

For fouls, offsides, being dribbled past and goals conceded the scale is inverted: a higher percentile means fewer of them.

vs 55 defenders · Ligue 1 · season 26/27 · min 270′ · player 403′

Similar playersLigue 1 · defenders · season 26/27

Profile match = 100 − mean gap of per-90 percentiles across 28 metrics of this position; players of the same league, position group and season with at least 270 minutes.

Availability

StatusInjuredsince 02.01.2026
Missed matches2last 12 months
National teamFrance U216 caps · 0 goals
Contract until30/06/2027
Market value€2.60mHighest: €7.50m (18/10/2023)

Season statsSeason 26/27

CompetitionTeamSeasonAppsMinRatingGAG+AYCRC
Ligue 1 logoLigue 1Nice logoNice26/2754037.02——01—
Transfers19
DateSeasonFromToFeeMarket value
30/06/202726/27Nice logoNiceFrankfurt logoFrankfurtEnd of loan€2.60m
01/09/202626/27Frankfurt logoFrankfurtNice logoNiceloan transfer€2.60m
30/06/202625/26Torino logoTorinoFrankfurt logoFrankfurtEnd of loan€2.60m
01/09/202525/26Frankfurt logoFrankfurtTorino logoTorinoLoan fee:€500k€3.50m
01/09/202323/24Saint-Étienne logoSaint-ÉtienneFrankfurt logoFrankfurt€7.50m€5.00m
01/07/202323/24Everton logoEvertonSaint-Étienne logoSaint-Étienne€2.00m€5.00m
30/06/202322/23Saint-Étienne logoSaint-ÉtienneEverton logoEvertonEnd of loan€5.00m
14/01/202322/23Everton logoEvertonSaint-Étienne logoSaint-Étienneloan transfer€2.50m
13/01/202322/23Cardiff logoCardiffEverton logoEvertonEnd of loan€2.50m
27/08/202222/23Everton logoEvertonCardiff logoCardiffloan transfer€2.20m
30/06/202221/22Standard Liège logoStandard LiègeEverton logoEvertonEnd of loan€2.20m
31/08/202121/22Everton logoEvertonStandard Liège logoStandard Liègeloan transfer€3.00m
02/07/202020/21Marseille B logoMarseille BEverton logoEverton€270k-
01/07/201818/19Marseille U19 logoMarseille U19Marseille B logoMarseille B--
01/11/201717/18Stade Brest U19Marseille U19 logoMarseille U19free transfer-
01/07/201717/18Entente SSG U17Stade Brest U19free transfer-
01/07/201616/17Cergy FC U17Entente SSG U17free transfer-
01/01/201615/16FC Rouen U17 logoFC Rouen U17Cergy FC U17free transfer-
01/07/201515/16Cergy FC JugendFC Rouen U17 logoFC Rouen U17free transfer-

Market value

€2.60m Current€7.50m Highest · 18/10/202329/05/2026 Last change
€7.50m
30.07.202029.05.2026
#258 France#268 Left-Back#262 Ligue 1#16 Nice#4.103 Worldwide#422 Year 2000
Value history
DateAgeClubValue
30/07/202019Everton FC logoEverton FC€500k
13/10/202019Everton FC logoEverton FC€3.00m
18/03/202120Everton FC logoEverton FC€3.00m
08/06/202120Everton FC logoEverton FC€3.00m
06/01/202221Standard Liège logoStandard Liège€3.00m
12/04/202221Standard Liège logoStandard Liège€2.20m
27/10/202221Cardiff City logoCardiff City€2.50m
06/04/202322AS Saint-Étienne logoAS Saint-Étienne€3.00m
16/06/202322AS Saint-Étienne logoAS Saint-Étienne€5.00m
18/10/202322Eintracht Frankfurt logoEintracht Frankfurt€7.50m
14/12/202323Eintracht Frankfurt logoEintracht Frankfurt€6.00m
27/03/202423Eintracht Frankfurt logoEintracht Frankfurt€7.50m
29/05/202423Eintracht Frankfurt logoEintracht Frankfurt€7.50m
20/12/202424Eintracht Frankfurt logoEintracht Frankfurt€6.00m
27/03/202524Eintracht Frankfurt logoEintracht Frankfurt€5.00m
05/06/202524Eintracht Frankfurt logoEintracht Frankfurt€3.50m
23/12/202525Torino FC logoTorino FC€3.50m
29/05/202625Torino FC logoTorino FC€2.60m
xG Statisticsall seasons
SeasonLeagueClubAppsMinGxGnpxGAxAShKPxGChain
2026Ligue 1Nice logoNice17400000000

What xG, npxG, xA and xGChain mean

xG Expected goals
How many goals an average finisher would score from the same shots. A 0.30 xG shot goes in about 3 times in 10. Goals above xG mean efficient finishing; below — a cold streak or poor finishing.
npxG Non-penalty xG
The same xG without penalties. A penalty alone is worth about 0.76 xG, so npxG is a cleaner view of open-play and set-piece chances.
xA Expected assists
The xG of the shots that followed the player's passes. High xA with few assists means teammates missed good chances.
xGChain xG chain
Team xG from every possession the player touched. It shows involvement in build-up, not only the shot or the final pass, so a deep midfielder can rank high without scoring.
KP Key passes
Passes that led directly to a shot — the volume behind xA.

Teammatessame club