The French defender was loaned to Championship side Cardiff City for the first half of the season, before he then headed back to his homeland with Saint-Etienne.

 

Nkounkou has enjoyed a successful spell at Saint-Etienne, helping the club move away from relegation danger in Ligue 2.

 

 

A potential permanent move to Saint-Etienne has been floated, especially with a claimed purchase clause of €2m in the loan agreement, and Nkounkou admits he would like some stability in his career.

 

“I would like to fix myself to a project, to no longer find myself in uncertainty every summer, without knowing where I will be for the season”, he was quoted as saying by French magazine Le 10 Sport.

 

 

“I would like to find stability somewhere. In recent years, I have moved around a lot, I have spread out a bit and now I want to settle down.

 

“Changing clubs necessarily plays on your mind. When you know that at the end of the season you will surely no longer be there, that you will return to a club where you do not know if you will be able to stay even if you fight, it makes you think.

 

 

“It’s not always easy to live with, whether for me, or for my relatives, who follow me every time.”

 

Nkounkou has made 16 appearances in Ligue 2 for Saint-Etienne, scoring six goals and providing his team-mates with eight assists.

 

Despite being a left-back by trade, the French club have often deployed him as a left midfielder.