Wilfried Kanon

Serge Wilfried Kanon (born 6 July 1993) is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays mainly as a centre-back for Kuwait Premier League club Al-Jahra and the Ivory Coast national team.

Club career

Early career Born in Taabo, Ivory Coast, Kanon made his debut for Empoli's junior team in 2010 in the Primavera championship. At the age of 17, he scored for the youth side in a 2–2 draw with Novara.

Gloria Bistrița and Corona Brașov After impressing during his trial period at Gloria Bistrița in Romania, club coach Nicolae Manea decided to offer Kanon a contract. He made his Liga I debut on 22 July, in a 2–1 defeat against Astra Ploiești in which he played 40 minutes of the game.

In the 2012–13 season, Kanon and several other players followed Manea at Corona Brașov. He featured as a left-back in the campaign opener, a 1–0 defeat to Oțelul Galați at home. Kanon established himself as a regular starter, but missed the sixth fixture due to work permit issues.

ADO Den Haag Following the work permit issues at Corona Brașov, Kanon was released to sign a two-year contract with Eredivisie team ADO Den Haag. The issues also continued in the Netherlands and prevented him from playing during the first half of the season. On 25 January 2014, he made his debut for the club in the 3–2 home win over Feyenoord.

In July 2015, Kanon was close to signing for Ligue 1 club Lille, which offered a €500,000 fee for his transfer. There, he would have been reunited with manager Hervé Renard, who coached him during Ivory Coast's conquest of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015. Medical examinations which revealed cardiac arrhythmia made the move fall through, and Kanon returned to The Hague to undergo heart surgery.

During the 2016–17 season, he totalled 28 appearances and scored once. His only goal came on the last matchday of the season in a 4–1 win over Excelsior.

Pyramids Kanon joined Egyptian Premier League side Pyramids on 18 September 2019. On 1 February 2021, he agreed to a six-month loan with Qatar Stars League side Al-Gharafa.

HIFK On 28 March 2022, Kanon signed with HIFK in Finland.

International career Kanon plays his first match with Ivory Coast on 11 January 2015 against Nigeria.

Career statistics Club

International

Scores and results list Ivory Coast's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kanon goal. + List of international goals scored by Wilfried Kanon Africa Cup of Nations: 2015