'He can make an impact': Ismaël Koné earns praise after strong Watford debut

Canadian international Ismaël Koné earned the praises of Watford FC manager Slaven Bilić following his club debut in the FA Cup vs. Reading FC, with the 20-year-old midfielder making a seamless transition into the Hornets' midfield and playing all 90 minutes in an eventual 2-0 defeat.

Koné – who departed CF Montréal after two seasons on the back of a rapid rise that also saw him figure his way into John Herdman's 2022 FIFA World Cup plans with Canada – quickly endeared himself to the Watford faithful with some flashes of brilliance, a sentiment that his manager Bilić had no problem highlighting.

"In every training session and every game you have some plusses and minuses, and a few of them got big plusses today," Bilić offered, as quoted by the Watford Observer.

"Kone was one of those definitely. It's still early days and he has only played one game, but we can only talk about that one game and he did well.

"There was no doubt he would always be one for the future. He's young and has a lot of potential. Today he showed me that he can also make an impact on the quality of our game straight away.

"He looks an athlete and he's good on the ball. Out of possession there are some positioning things we’ll help him learn. When he's challenging a player he is aggressive and has strength.

"He was very, very good, in both phases of the game."

While Koné has yet to make his EFL Championship debut, he likely won't have to wait too long, as Bilić also made is clear that more opportunities would come for the young Canadian.

"I wanted to give some young boys a chance. I said to all the young boys, those who started and those who came on, there are two things I want from you: Firstly, don’t s**t yourselves. Secondly, enjoy it. And I am happy at what they did."