Basic Information:

• Name: Richard Kone
• Club: Wycombe Wanderers
• Position: Centre-Forward
• Age: 21

Game Characteristics:

• Finishing: Kone is efficient in converting chances, with a high shot conversion rate, making him a reliable scorer inside the penalty area.
• Movement: His ability to find space and position himself frequently puts him in good scoring opportunities.
• Dribbling: While he possesses some dribbling skills, averaging 3.03 dribbles per match, there is room for improvement in dribbling success.
• Defensive Contribution: His contribution to defensive tasks is limited, representing an area for further development, especially in modern football where greater involvement from forwards in defense is expected.
• Direct Play: He often receives long balls and utilizes Wycombe’s direct style of play effectively. He is also a solid chance creator, although his primary role is finishing attacks.

Early Period: After arriving in the United Kingdom in 2019 to participate in the Homeless World Cup, Kone began playing for the club Lopes Tavares, later renamed Athletic Newham. In his first season, he scored 20 goals in 31 matches. Following Athletic Newham’s promotion to the Essex Senior League in 2021, Kone continued his impressive performances, scoring 42 goals in 48 matches, becoming the league’s top scorer with 31 goals. In the 2022/23 season, he netted 40 goals in all competitions. Despite interest from higher-league clubs, his visa status prevented him from playing professional football.

Wycombe Wanderers: After scoring 21 goals for Newham at the start of the 2023/24 season, Kone joined Wycombe Wanderers in January 2024 following an extended trial. He made his debut on January 9, 2024, in the EFL Trophy quarterfinal against West Ham United U21, scoring a goal in a 2-1 victory. Later that month, he made his league debut against Lincoln City and scored his first league goal against Fleetwood Town. In October 2024, he came off the bench and scored a perfect hat-trick against Peterborough United in just 9 minutes, setting the record for the fastest hat-trick for Wycombe in the EFL. In November 2024, he signed a contract extension with the club.

2024/25 Season:

Kone is currently the third-highest scorer in League One with eight goals. In 10 starts, he boasts the best expected goals (xG) per 90 minutes rate of 0.69 and scores 0.83 goals per 90 minutes. Additionally, he averages 2.91 shots per 90 minutes, ranking among the top 10 forwards in this category.

Personal opinion : I have always loved following the lower English leagues, and my current favorite player to watch is Richard Kone. Knowing his life story, everything he is achieving right now is simply incredible. He is a player who is truly hungry for success, and his performance on the pitch is outstanding, especially considering that this is officially the third tier of competition. However, I am confident that this player is destined for a Premier League career. Netflix better get ready; there’s plenty of material here for a movie.