Everton defender Niels Nkounkou outlined how former Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti persuaded him to sign for the club in 2020.
Nkounkou, who is presently at Ligue 2 club Saint-Étienne on loan, was speaking to Ligue 2 about his move to the Merseyside club a few years ago.
The young Frenchman also heaped praise on now Aston Villa left-back Lucas Digne for helping him settle at Everton at the time.
Nkounkou said: "I had a lot of proposals to sign my first professional contract, starting with OM of course, but I also had Everton and several French and foreign clubs.
“But one day, I received a phone call from Carlo Ancelotti and that changed everything. He told me about the sports project he saw for me, how he wanted me to become a top player. I very much appreciated his speech.
“He told me that he was going to teach me a lot defensively, in the area where I had the most shortcomings, in positioning, and that he was going to help me correct that.
“Carlo also told me that I was going to be the number 3 left-back behind Lucas Digne and Leighton Baines. But in the end, Leighton decided to hang up his boots and it was I who found myself behind Lucas, someone who helped me enormously in my adaptation.
“As we were both French, it was easier. And he's an international so I learned a lot from him. When you're in contact with people like Lucas Digne or Carlo Ancelotti, a coach who made history and continues to make history, you learn faster. For all these reasons, I am happy to have chosen Everton."
