Jesse Marsch is pushing Ismaël Koné to hit new heights after a tough year: "He's a creative thinker"
When it rains, it can really pour, and it seems like Ismaël Koné can’t catch a break right now.
After a tough 2024-2025 season for Marseille, one that finished with him going to fellow Ligue 1 side Stade Rennais on loan, Koné’s woes continued this past summer, as he played just 103 minutes across two appearances at the Gold Cup. Not only that, but the 23-year-old didn’t appear at all in Canada’s most important game, either, sitting as an unused substitute in a penalty shootout loss to Guatemala in the quarter-finals.
Soon after, a viral clip came out of Koné being on the receiving end of a brutal tongue lashing from Marseille coach, Roberto De Zerbi, after making a mistake in OM training last fall, with De Zerbi telling Koné to ‘call his agent’ to seek an exit from the club - a moment that certainly helps explain why Koné was so eager to celebrate when he scored against Marseille for Rennes in the last game of 2024-2025.
👀 The training ground altercation between Roberto De Zerbi and Ismaël Koné (23) which led to the Canadian’s January departure from Marseille.
— Get French Football News (@GFFN) August 4, 2025
🎥 Olympique de Marseille on Youtube pic.twitter.com/SJzzDng8Yw
Then, having earned a fresh start with a loan move to Serie A side Sassuolo for the 2025-2026 season, Koné had a nightmare end to an otherwise strong performance vs. defending champions Napoli in his side’s league opener last month, getting sent off for a second yellow card in the 79th minute of a 2-0 loss.
Because of that, the alarm bells were rung when Koné had another moment he’d soon want to forget partway through the CanMNT’s 3-0 win vs. Romania last Friday, as the midfielder was caught having an intense discussion with head coach Jesse Marsch following his substitution from the match in the 64th minute of that friendly.
Ismael Kone not too pleased as he exits this match... 👀#CanMNT 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/UNKZ358zdD
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 5, 2025
Marsch later confirmed that Koné was just a bit frustrated after coming off amid a good performance, worrying that it was because of a mistake he made - Marsch quickly told him that it was nothing of the sort, and instead a tactical switch designed to shut down the game.
Ultimately, it was a nothing moment, as Koné is hardly the first player to express frustration at coming out when having a good performance - and most would argue that it’s not a bad thing he felt that way given that he’s sometimes, fairly or unfairly, been accused of being too nonchalant - but given the public nature of the outburst and Koné’s recent woes, it naturally captured the attention of a wider Canadian public.
Because of that, Koné made sure to address the situation ahead of the CanMNT’s next match, a friendly vs. Wales on Tuesday, as he was put up to speak during the matchday-1 press conference, allowing him to explain what happened and his reaction to the whole situation.
“It was disappointment, frustration,” Koné said of what happened. “As a man, for our team, it was something that I shouldn't have done right in that moment, whatever my reason may have been, so I spoke with my teammates and I spoke with my coaches, just to tell them how much I appreciate them, and that this was something that came just out of frustration, and I made sure to them that it will never happen again.”
Certainly, with Koné’s private apology and public declaration, it feels like this story is over, and that Marsch has already declared that the midfielder will start vs. Wales gives an idea of how he feels about the whole situation.
KJ's Diary in Wales: Day 1 📚
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) September 7, 2025
The CanMNT 🇨🇦 have arrived in Wales, with Ismael Kone the main topic of discussion two days before the match 🎙️
Jesse Marsch & Nathan Saliba speak about the situation, with Marsch confirming Kone will start once again on Tuesday pic.twitter.com/FUCEa4Azgm
When it comes down to it, this whole thing was never about Koné’s actions, but instead the manner, time and place of the outburst, and that’s what he and Marsch addressed.
Having established a strong relationship since Marsch’s arrival last year, Koné will now look to repay some of that trust from his head coach in this Wales match. Lost in the shuffle of the Romania game was that Koné looked quite good in Canada’s midfield, putting together a strong showing on both sides of the ball.
His numbers speak for themselves, too, as he completed 17 out of 22 passes, created two chances, had one tackle, made one clearance, had two interceptions and completed six recoveries.
Therefore, as he gets set to start back-to-back games for Canada for just the second time since the end of Copa América, he’s just looking to build on what he showed on the pitch Friday - with the outburst already long forgotten.
“Every game I play with the National Team is a chance to give back,” Koné said. “I trust Jesse, and Jesse has trusted me since we met, so for an issue like this, we dealt with it. He’s a professional, so in a situation like this, even with our conversation afterwards, it was all very clear. Now, every time I step on the pitch with my brothers, I want to represent (Canada) the best way possible and repay that trust.”
Fittingly, with this opportunity to start back-to-back games for his country, this is a good chance for Koné to find some consistency in his game, something that could go a long way for him, too.
At the end of the day, there’s no doubting Koné’s talent and what he can bring to this Canadian team when he’s at his best. When he’s on his game, he’s a true gamebreaker, one that brings unique skills to Canada’s midfield, but his goal has been to bring that game-breaking ability every game while not skirting his other responsibilities on and off the ball.
Yet, that’s been the challenge Koné has had over the last few years. Having burst onto the scene with a year to remember in 2022, one where he made his professional debut with CF Montréal, quickly becoming a starter for the club, before making his CanMNT debut, playing at a World Cup and then making a move to EFL Championship side Watford at the end of the year, it felt like he’d be on an ascension towards massive things ahead of this 2026 World Cup.
Since then, though, he’s had his fair share of ups and downs, as he’s battled with the realities of playing in the European game. For example, at Watford, he faced the challenge of playing in a gruelling league at a club that changes managers like they’re seasonal outfits (Koné had four managers in his 18 months in England), while at Marseille, he dealt with the intensity of being inside a pressure-cooker club with a rabid fanbase, one that puts you under a microscope at all times.
That’s tough for any player to deal with, but especially for a young player who had a pretty non-traditional route to where he was (Koné didn’t come through CF Montréal’s academy, as he was instead developed at local Ligue 1 Québec side CS Saint Laurent before joining Montréal’s U23 team in 2020), making it a crash course of sorts for him.
At Sassuolo now, though, it feels like he’s landed at a good spot to develop after a productive few months at Rennes, who showed interest in bringing back Koné but were unable to find a way to execute a deal with Marseille.
Ismaël Koné is taking on Marseille today... 👀
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) May 17, 2025
...let's see how the #CanMNT star is doin– OH MY WORD 🚀
🎥 @beINSPORTS_EN pic.twitter.com/MtNjkci85O
Already, his new club seems eager to give him opportunities to shine, knowing that he could be exactly what they need to survive in Serie A after earning promotion from Serie B last season. Often, it can be hard for teams in their situation to acquire a talent like Koné, but his struggles have meant that he was available for a loan, one with a reasonable purchase option (reported to be around 14 million euros, with an automatic trigger if Sassuolo stay up).
Because of that, they’ve already looked comfortable with helping him work through the ups and downs, such as his recent red card, knowing that he could prove to be a key difference-maker throughout the year, especially if he can find a bit of maturity and consistency in his overall game.
“A move like this helps me a lot,” Koné offered when asked about his move to Sassuolo. “Last year was difficult for me, so to be in a new environment, to be somewhere where I’m trusted to go, and just be myself is very key. I've been challenged on a lot of levels, but luckily for me, I've been challenged in the same way by Jesse, so I'm happy with that.”
“Hopefully, it can elevate my game in all aspects and help me become a complete player, but I'm happy that I'm there. I have a good relationship with the coach, I have a good relationship with my teammates, and we're looking forward to the season.”
“We know we're going to have challenges, but we're ready to do something special, and we know we're going to need everybody, so I’m happy with that.”
That’s good news for Marsch, in particular, who, as one of Koné’s biggest supporters, would love nothing more than for him to be starting for the CanMNT at next summer’s World Cup.
If that were to happen, it would’ve meant that Koné had a great year for Sassuolo and took the learnings of his National Team coach in stride, developing into a more complete player.
Will it be a straightforward journey towards that potential outcome? Probably not, as the last few months have shown, but when Koné shows a glimpse of what he can do, as he did in his first few games for Sassuolo and now last week for Canada, that journey seems worth it.
WOW 🤩
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) March 30, 2025
Ismaël Koné with a BANGER 💥#CanMNT | 🎥 @DAZN_CA pic.twitter.com/v45Qj8EiXP
Because of that, look for Marsch to keep pushing Koné as he tackles this pivotal stretch, one where he’ll be determined to put this year-long storm behind him as he navigates arguably the most important season of his career - one that could decide how high a ceiling he hits as a player.
“He's a creative thinker, and in this world that we live in, we don’t always have these outside-the-box thinkers,” Marsch said of Koné. “There are a lot of talented players who understand their roles as they commit to the mentality needed to give them a chance to perform at the highest levels, but then there are other guys that are a little bit different, a little bit special, who think a little bit differently, see things a little bit differently.”
“It’s one of the beauties of our sport, players come in so many different shapes and sizes, so for me as a coach, it's always about trying to maximize the potential of who they are as people and what they can do as players, while making sure that that they understand the structure and the discipline of what we're trying to create and the tactics, while also giving the guys that think a little bit differently, that see things a little bit differently, the freedom to be who they are.”
“Ismaël, for me, in his overall maturation, is still feeling that out; he’s still adapting to having more structure and understanding the standards at which he has to be thinking when it comes to concentration and discipline in every moment of every match, while still having the freedom to go after the game in ways that make him feel happy and joyous. Sassuolo can help him with that.”
“The Italian style of football is very structured, it’s very defensively oriented, so there will be a lot of responsibility on his shoulders as he tries to fit into the way that they need him to perform to be successful as a team that's just been promoted.”
“But I also think they're smart enough to also see that he is a guy that can be the one that can make the difference in games, so they’re helping him along this pathway of discipline and concentration, while allowing him to succeed and thrive in the things that he is different with - and that will be key for him and their team.”
