'It's the life I wanted,' Koné says of jump from CF Montréal to Europe

It has transpired quickly for Ismaël Koné, from his first complete MLS season with CF Montréal, to an inaugural World Cup appearance with Canada and a move to Watford FC, a Second Division club in the English Football League Championship.

“It’s been a crazy roller-coaster, but it’s football,” Koné said Thursday during a video conference organized by CFM to accommodate the many media requests he has received since returning from Qatar. “Going to this life, I knew what I was getting myself into. I wasn’t expecting it to be this fast, but it’s the game. It’s how it’s going to be and always will be.

“I have to adapt, but I’m happy,” added the 20-year-old, who was playing semi-pro with CS St-Laurent as recently as 2020. “It’s the life I wanted for myself. Hopefully, I can keep moving higher and higher.”

The attacking midfielder’s move to Europe appeared inevitable. During last summer’s transfer window, CFM reportedly received interest in Koné from Sheffield United and Norwich City before those deals fell through. Norwich City, however, was prepared to spend a reported US$8-10 million for Koné — which is what Watford reportedly paid — surpassing the US$6-million transfer fee Dutch side AZ Alkmaar paid for Djordje Mihailovic.

“It’s encouraging for me to finally make the jump to go to Europe,” Koné said. “I always wanted to play in the biggest leagues. I’m proud of myself to finally make the jump and I’ll keep working to go higher.”

Watford is fourth in the standings (9-6-6) and is almost halfway through its 48-game schedule. It placed 19th last season in the Premier League and was relegated to the EFL Championship. The club is owned by Gino Pozzo whose father, Giampaolo, owns Udinese Calcio of the Italian Serie A, leading to the possibility of Koné continuing his ascension.

“Watford has sold a lot of players,” Koné said. “It’s encouraging for me to go there because they have the right platform. As I spoke to them, the project for me was to come there and develop my potential, become the top talent I can be and, hopefully, move to a higher team. I felt like they really wanted me.”

Koné went to Belgium earlier in his career for trials and, following last season, trained with Bologna FC of Serie A, CFM’s sister club. So living abroad will be nothing new although, this time, Koné realizes he’s there to stay.

“There will be people around to help me, but it will be different,” Koné admitted. “It’s a higher pace, more physical, with different players; players that are used to this level. It’ll be a challenge for me, but this obviously is where I want to be. I just have to get used to it. I’ll go out there, give my best and see what the outcome will be.”

In 26 games (18 starts) last season, the 6-foot-2, 168-pound Koné had two goals and five assists. He was one of the many players who contributed to CF Montréal’s successful season (20-9-5), good for second in the Eastern Conference. But the club has since lost head coach Wilfried Nancy to Columbus, while the player exodus of Mihailovic, Koné and Alistair Johnston will probably include Joel Waterman and Kamal Miller.

While Canada lost all three of its World Cup games, optimism remains high heading into 2026, when the country, along with the U.S. and Mexico, will host the tournament.

“We didn’t get the result we wanted, but we got to experience something we never did before,” Koné said. “I think we should be proud of what we’ve done. We showed we have character and are fearless. There’s lots of great things to take into 2026 and it’s good for us. We started moving forward as soon as we dedicated our minds to being World Cup players and a World Cup country.”

hzurkowsky@postmedia.com

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