The 20-year-old left-back left Marseille at the end of last season and moved to Everton on a three-year contract in the last transfer window.
The Frenchman insists that there were already too many players at Marseille who were competing for the left-back spot in the first-team squad.
He insisted that he had to leave the French club as he wanted to play more football somewhere else.
The defender told French sports daily L’Equipe: “I preferred to leave because there were a lot of players who could develop in the left-back position.
“I needed playing time and Everton could give it to me.”
Nkounkou conceded that he liked the lengths Everton went to in order to convince him to move to England, which included multiple scouting trips to watch him.
However, he insisted that it was the meeting with Ancelotti, who spoke French, that finally convinced him to join Everton as the Italian had a definitive plan for him to be introduced into the Toffees squad.
The Frenchman said: “Everton’s project caught my fancy during the season.
“They followed me throughout last season, they came to watch me in several matches. I had discussions, meetings.
“The discussion I had with Carlo Ancelotti definitely convinced me. He knows the French league and he spoke French, which was good for me.
“He told me what he planned to do with me. It’s boosted me further.
“It is a good learning project for me.”
