The French left-back was snapped up by former Everton boss Ancelotti in the summer of 2020 on a free transfer.
Though the 22-year-old failed to make a telling impression at Goodison Park, according to his own admission, he was able to learn a lot from the veteran manager.
Ancelotti taught Nkounkou how to balance his workload between attack and defence, helping him take a big leap in his development.
“When I came from Marseille, I often ran forward, played very offensively and did little work at the back”, Nkounkou said to German daily Bild.
“He taught me to think defensively as well, which was a big step in my development.”
Ancelotti’s habit of treating each player equally was also something that caught the eye of the Nkounkou.
For the 64-year-old, everyone was equal – no matter whether he was a star or a budding talent and that impressed the Frenchman.
“He was also very important to me as a person because I saw how he treated us players.
“That he treated everyone equally.
“He made no distinction between talent and star, he acted according to the performance principle.
“That impressed me.”
Following three loan spells and seven senior appearances for the Toffees, Nkounkou departed from Goodison Park on a permanent basis, joining Saint-Etienne initially and then moving to Germany this summer.
