De Zerbi’s Marseille beat Roma and West Ham to Kone | OneFootball

Roma and West Ham United had wanted Ismael Koné, but it’s reported the Watford and Canada international is heading to Roberto De Zerbi’s Olympique Marseille.

According to Footmercato, the deal is done and Marseille managed to convince the midfielder that he should take the next step of his career in Ligue 1.

It is suggested that Roma and West Ham might even have been offering better wages, but Koné wanted the guarantee of regular playing time under new coach De Zerbi.

Roma miss out on Kone

The 22-year-old Canada international is currently in the USA for the Copa America, so will likely have a medical there or wait until the tournament is over.

He already has 19 senior caps for Canada, scoring two goals.

Watford signed Koné from the Montreal Impact in January 2023 at a cost of €8m, but their failure to earn promotion to the Premier League made his exit fairly inevitable.

There was interest from both Roma and West Ham, but it seems De Zerbi and the Marseille directors were sufficiently convincing.