Ismael Kone was hungry for what the future had in store even before he knew where he would land with the inevitable January transfer.
“It will be an opportunity to grow further,” Kone said. athletic In an interview in August when he spoke about the prospect of moving to Europe. “That’s all I care about.”
The 20-year-old will have the opportunity to continue his development at English Championship club Watford. His transfer, believed to be worth around £8.8 million ($10.6 million), was a record for CF Montreal.
“I am confident that he will help us not only in the next six months, but also in the long term.” Said Watford manager Slaven Bilic after Kone signed a four-and-a-half-year contract.
There is a lot of hype surrounding this Canadian, but given his excellent performances in 2022, it seems justified.
The central midfielder made his MLS debut with Montreal’s first team last year. From there, he scored four goals and provided five assists in 32 appearances in all competitions.
In addition to this, he made his debut for Canada, appearing in all three matches at the World Cup. He scored his first international goal against Bahrain just before the tournament.
goal 🇨🇦
the first #CanMNT Ismael Kone’s goal?
you bet!of #CFMTL The star breaks through the Bahrain backline and finishes as cool as you like 😎
🔴 https://t.co/7JFAUhxUCE pic.twitter.com/fW5AqjgjWG
—OneSoccer (@onesoccer) November 11, 2022
Facing a challenging group, Kone performed well in Qatar, displaying his trademark confidence and game-changing ball movement.
Not bad for a player who is just starting training in Montreal in 2021 after playing for Canadian amateur club CS Saint-Laurent.
Kone then made his Watford debut on Saturday in the FA Cup third round loss to Reading.
But what can Bilic and fans expect from their exciting new contract? athletic take a look…
Watford will enjoy the luxury of being able to use Kone in various positions in the championship.
As the graph below shows, he spent most of 2022 either as a defensive midfielder or as a linkman in the middle of the park. But in his debut at Watford this weekend, he started on the left side of the double pivot, showing just how adaptable he is.
His versatility is his confidence on the ball, his ability to pass quickly and cleanly, and his dribbling ability.
There is little hesitation in Kone’s game, and he is adept at giving his teammates scoring chances in the final third. He posted his 83.5% pass completion rate in the attacking third last year. This suggests that he is well equipped to play on Watford’s higher pitches if needed.
But his dribbling ability shines when he gets to the middle of the park against Reading.
Slaven Bilic turning Ismael Kone into a midfielder of destruction and progress?
you have @AlexGangueRuzic‘s attention… #CanMNT pic.twitter.com/nvyJ0JAirV
— Peter Galindo (@GalindoPW) January 7, 2023
“He wants to take responsibility. He had the ball and he did good off the ball,” Bilic said of Kone after his debut. “He showed us that we could trust him and that we could use him right away.”
His qualities on the pitch are reflected in Smarterscout ratings related to how often and effectively a player performs certain actions (such as shooting). His carry and dribbling ratings (57 out of 99) show him running with the ball slightly more than the average central midfielder, but creating chances with passes Much less likely (progressive his pass, 7 out of 99).
Instead, Kone’s brilliant dribbling helps draw defenders to him and provides an element of creativity and unpredictability that helps Watford’s attack.
“He’s very strong on the dribble,” former Montreal teammate Samuel Piette said of Kone before the World Cup. “He’s not the kind of guy to step over. But he takes you one way and then explodes the other. You can’t catch him. He has that flow, He has moves that other players don’t have.It’s classy, but it looks good.And even better, that smoothness.He’s a guy who’s not afraid of the way he plays.”
He is also adept at dribbling past top-level opponents, as evidenced by his Smarterscout Dribbling Rating of 75 out of 99 in Weighted Dueling.
Kone’s goal speaks to that lack of fear.
Choose your location 🎯
Beauty is Ismael Kone’s second goal of the season! pic.twitter.com/htKhzRi6IJ
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 28, 2022
The 2022 MLS season has been full of learning opportunities for Kone on and off the pitch. He said he believed he became more confident as the season progressed, cleaner in touch and more aggressive in trying to get the ball forward.
CF Montreal midfielder and Canadian international Ismael Kone (20) is very good.
No wonder Norwich City tried to close the $6 million deal early before the price continued to climb. There is certainly no shortage of teams eager to sign him after his deal with Norwich fell through. 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/dL9u2zzXkw
— Tom Bogart (@tombogert) August 4, 2022
Again, all of this happened only in Kone’s first pro season.
It will be interesting to see how Billick handles a player with no elite experience but great potential. Will he unleash a flashy new toy and allow Kone to explore new environments with great confidence?
It could be argued that this was how manager John Hardman approached Kone in Canada early on. It could also be argued that it was an approach that paid off as Kone looked dynamic with the ball at his feet.
Kone entered trials for Belgian sides Genk and Mouscron in 2020, and having only played in amateur matches at that point, took the crash course of the professional football lifestyle.
“It taught me how the professional game works,” Kone said of the exam, which ultimately failed. But actually living is different.”
When COVID-19 hit the world, Kone returned to Canada and spent a year on Montreal’s radar.
Considering how recent his adaptation to professional football is, it may take some patience as Watford work to integrate Kone into the physically demanding league.
Despite all his talent, Kone’s Watford teammates shouldn’t expect to hear much from him. It is said that he was a good person.
Kone in action for Canada at the 2022 World Cup (Photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
It might be a smart move for Bilic to drag the veteran aside and ask him to bring Kone under his wing.
Kone says he learned a lot from 31-year-old Victor Wanyama in Montreal in 2022. The former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder’s advice to Kone was simple. Get out on the pitch and show who you are. ”
“It’s a process,” former Montreal head coach Wilfried Nancy said of Kone in August. It’s The Pitch, so how he sleeps, what he eats, the environment.”
Challenges will undoubtedly continue for Kone, who joins a team competing for promotion.
But these are the challenges he seems ready for.
“I have to make demands of myself,” Kone said.
(MLS stats by American Soccer Analysis, graphics courtesy of Liam Tharme)
(Photo above: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
