Ismaël Koné #8

Profile

At his best, Koné is a sight to behold, gliding across midfield, finding space and leaving defenders in his wake. He has the ability to light up games, as he showed in a 2024 friendly between Canada and France when he stood out despite being surrounded by World Cup winners. Born in Côte d’Ivoire, he moved with his mother to Montreal aged seven and was soon making his name as a teenager with the city’s MLS side. Koné was fast-tracked from there to Europe, first to Watford in 2022, then Marseille two years later. He joined Sassuolo last year, initially on loan before the move was made permanent in February. He might be softly spoken, but Koné has a fierce competitive spirit and is determined to improve his consistency. Last year, Jesse Marsch labelled him a work in progress. “I’ve made it very clear to him that we all believe in his talent,” said Marsch, “but we need to refine him as a soccer player, on the discipline and concentration of what he does on the pitch … I’m definitely not trying to limit his talents and his creativity, but I’m trying to add more tactical discipline.”

Key stats