CF Montreals Ismal Kon is showing impressive promise early this MLS season – The Athletic

CF Montreal have become one of the more entertaining teams to watch in MLS this season. With manager Wilfried Nancys fluid 3-4-3 shape, their desire to keep the ball, and quality players sprinkled all over the field, Montreal check a lot of the boxes that fun and good teams tend to check.

Theres one more box, though, that theyre checking in 2022: Trusting and developing an extremely talented young player; 19-year-old homegrown Ismal Kon.

Kon, a central midfielder, is in the midst of an impressive first season in MLS. After an injury to Samuel Piette freed up minutes in midfield, he entered Montreals starting lineup in their second game of the season, a home match against Santos Laguna in the CONCACAF Champions League. Kon has since started all but three games for Nancy and has even played twice for Canadas mens national team. Kon also has multiple European training stints under his belt, one in Belgium and one in Italy with Bologna.

Lets dive into what makes Kon so special.

If you watch even just a few seconds of Kons game tape, the first thing that will immediately stand out is his build. Standing at a thin six-foot-2, he has an unusual frame for a soccer player, but it does provide unique advantages. His long legs and athletic ability allow Kon to have some impressive speed. He can cover ground on both sides of the ball and regularly uses his range to impact the game.

When Montreal have the ball, Kon plays as the more advanced member of Nancys double pivot, positioned slightly ahead of Victor Wanyama in central midfield. Kons long frame and his ground coverage make him a good fit for that advanced midfield role. In possession, its clear to the naked eye that Kon loves to stride forward and involve himself in Montreals attacking play more so than others in that position. And once hes in those positions, data shows hes generally a pretty effective contributor. According to FBref, Kon is more involved than most MLS central midfielders when it comes to the attack. His 0.15 non-penalty goals per 90 minutes and his 0.12 expected assists per 90 minutes put him in the 81st and 74th percentile among MLS midfielders over the last year.

Kons lone goal of the year is a great representation of how he influences Montreals attack. In the first half of Montreals 3-3 draw with Atlanta United in March, Kon switched the point of attack from right to left before making a lovely late-arriving run that started in midfield and ended near the penalty spot. Even with a 10-yard head start, Atlanta defensive midfielder Ozzie Alonso couldnt keep up with him. Now, Alonso, uh, isnt the quickest player when healthy at the stage of his MLS career, but its still an impressive run.

Covering that much ground in such a small amount of time is nothing short of incredible.

Even if he doesnt contribute directly to the play, Kons ability to move into attacking spaces has also helped his team disrupt opposing defenses. On this play from last month, Kon doesnt get on the end of the pass, but his run comes out of nowhere to draw defenders away from the ball-carrier for just enough time to allow an actual play to develop. With better timing (or more involved teammates), Kons run could easily have led to a Montreal possession in opposition territory with the opposing defenders on the back foot.

Kon offers value with the ball at his feet as well, having proven to be an extremely aggressive dribbler when in possession. Per FBref, he averages 1.31 successful dribbles per 90 minutes which puts him in the 81st percentile among midfielders in MLS. Kons close control combined with his aforementioned acceleration makes it difficult for opposing defenders to stop him with the ball at his feet. It takes Kon a little too long to turn in this clip because he doesnt check his shoulders soon enough, but once he has the ball with any kind of space in front, hes gone. He dribbles his way through Atlanta Uniteds midfield line and moves the ball out to the wing for one of his attacking teammates.

Kons range comes in handy when theyre defending, too. Almost like a free safety in American football, Kon can hang back in defensive transition before taking a few short steps (for him) and intercepting the ball. You can see that on this play, where he steps in front of Matheus Rossetto to stop an Atlanta counter attack.

As Kon continues to gain on-field experience and learns to deploy these abilities consistently and in the right moments, his speed and range will only become more difficult for opposing teams to deal with.

While Kon is a brilliant young player, there are a couple of key areas of his game that need improvement, particularly in possession.

As shown earlier, Kon doesnt always check his shoulders before receiving the ball, or at least he doesnt always check them at the right time. Because hes sometimes unaware of who and what is around him, Kon has to focus on getting his bearings on the ball instead of picking out a quality pass. Per FBref, the 19-year-old is in just the 17th percentile among MLS midfielders in passes attempted per 90 minutes. According to American Soccer Analysiss Goals Added metric, Kon is one of the weakest passers on his team.

Hes not involved enough in Montreals possession and when he is involved, the outcome isnt always great. As an example, Kon couldve turned away from pressure and helped his team switch the point of attack over to the far side on this play. Instead, he takes a touch back towards the near sideline and forces a teammate to play a hopeful long ball.

Refining his game as he receives the ball (and directly afterwards) will turn Kon into a better and more well-rounded player.

One other area that Kon should improve is his decision-making in the final third, especially with his shot selection. Kon loves to shoot from outside the box. While long shots can be useful, they often function as a wasteful end to a potentially valuable possession. According to FBref, the midfielder averages 0.03 xG per shot. Thats a very low number that puts him in just the 13th percentile among MLS midfielders. You can see his teammates frustration when he takes this shot at a tough angle from 25-yards out. The shot was blocked and turned possession over to the Philadelphia Union.

If Kon can improve his passing in possession and tighten up his shot selection, 2022 might be a memorable year for the 19-year-old. Kon could feature for Canada at the World Cup and he could be in line for a move from Montreal over to a European club later this year as well.

For now, though, Kon is one of the most entertaining and unique players in MLS and for a teenager, thats no small feat.

(Photo: David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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CF Montreals Ismal Kon is showing impressive promise early this MLS season - The Athletic