Niels Nkounkou (born 1 November 2000, age 25) is a French left-back with Nice. He is valued at around £2m by Transfermarkt, which feels about right for a player with top-flight experience but still a career that has not quite settled into one clear shape.
His most productive league spell came at Saint-Etienne in 2022-23, when he scored six goals in 20 appearances. For a full-back, that is a useful return rather than a statistical curiosity, and it remains the season that best shows what he can offer going forward.
Nkounkou is now at Nice, where he has made three Ligue 1 appearances in 2026-27. He was linked with a move to Celtic in August 2026, a brief transfer line rather than anything more substantial.
At this stage, his career is that of an established professional still looking for a longer, more settled run. Saint-Etienne gave him his sharpest attacking spell; Nice is the current test of where he fits next.
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