Quebec and Canadian international midfielder Ismaël Koné has been transferred to Watford FC, an English second division club, CF Montreal confirmed in a press release on Monday.
Koné thus became the second player to leave the Montreal organization in a few days, after defender Alistair Johnston was transferred to the prestigious Celtic of Glasgow, a historic club in the Scottish first division.
CF Montreal also transferred attacking midfielder Djordje Mihailovic to AZ Alkmaar, a Dutch first division club, last August.
Koné rose to international prominence by recently appearing in all three group stage matches for Canada at the Men’s Soccer World Cup in Qatar, playing a total of 106 minutes.
The 20-year-old player was born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, then grew up in Montreal. After playing with CS St-Laurent, then the CF Montreal Academy for a few months, Koné signed his first professional contract with the first team on August 13, 2021.
In his first professional season in 2022, he played 26 games, including 18 as a starter, and had two goals and five assists in the regular season. He also started in both playoff games, scoring the game-winning goal against Orlando City.
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