Kamil Zayatte (; born 7 March 1985) is a

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

n former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a defender. An

RC Lens Racing Club de Lens (), commonly referred to as RC Lens or simply as Lens, is a French professional football club based in the northern city of Lens in the department of Pas-de-Calais. The club's nickname, ''Les Sang et Or'' (), comes from i ...

youth product, Zayatte's performances at Swiss club Young Boys earned him a loan move to

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Hull City Hull City Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. They compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. They play their home ...

in 2008 which was later made permanent. Following a brief stint with Turkish side

Konyaspor Konyaspor Kulübü (, Konya Sports Club), commonly referred to as Konyaspor, is a Turkish professional football club based in Konya, one of the largest cities in central Anatolia. Due to sponsorship agreements, the club is also officially known ...

in the second half of the 2010–11 season, he joined Istanbul BB. In 2013 he returned to England signing with

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

where he stayed for two seasons. His last club was Al Raed where he remained for half a season. In addition to his club career, Zayatte made 44 FIFA-official appearances for the Guinea national team.

Club career

Born in

Conakry Conakry ( , ; ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its population as of the 2014 Guinea census was 1,660,973. The current population of C ...

, Zayatte moved from Guinea to Paris, France at the age of fifteen. His first professional club was

, where he got to know future Hull City teammate

Daniel Cousin Daniel Michel Cousin (born 7 February 1977) is a Gabonese former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played for Martigues, Chamois Niortais, Le Mans Union Club 72, RC Lens, Rangers, Hull City, Larissa and Sapins, as well as ...

. He only played in two games for Lens, one league and one cup, and moved to

BSC Young Boys Berner Sport Club Young Boys (YB by short abbreviation, ) is a Swiss professional sports club based in Bern, Switzerland. Its first team has won 17 Swiss league championships and eight Swiss Cups. YB is one of the most successful Swiss footbal ...

for more first-team opportunities. In summer 2008, Zayatte had trials with Everton and

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

, before joining

on a season-long

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

on 31 August. City had the option to sign him longer-term if they stayed in the

. A deal made the transfer permanent for a fee that matched the club's then-record signing (£2.5 million for Anthony Gardner). On 25 October 2008, Zayatte scored his first goal for Hull in a 3–0 win against

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

early in the second half, a volley from Dean Marney's right hand corner to maintain Hull's impressive start to the 2008–09 campaign. On 23 January 2009, it was announced that Zayatte had signed permanently with Hull, on a reported three-year deal. In September 2010, Zayatte was to sign for Leicester City, first permanently and then on a season-long loan with an optional view of a permanent deal. Leicester, however, pulled out of the deal citing regulatory issues. On 18 January 2011, Zayatte was allowed to return to France on compassionate grounds, with

retaining his playing registration in order to control any future compensation issues. On 24 January 2011, it was announced that he had signed a contract with Turkish club

. On 27 May 2011, Zayatte signed a three-year contract with

İstanbul BB Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. On 2 August 2013, Zayatte signed a two-year deal with

subject to FIFA clearance. He scored his first goal for the club in the 17 August 2013 derby against Leeds United, which finished 1–1. Zayatte was one of 11 players released by

at the end of the 2014–15 season.

International career

He played with the national team in

2015 Africa Cup of Nations The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, Equatorial Guinea 2015 for sponsorship reasons, was the 30th staging of the Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa. It was org ...

, where the team reached the quarter-finals.https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2015/02/01/africa/africa-cup-of-nations/ghana/guinea/1994425 /

International goals

References

External links

Profile, stats and pictures of Kamil Zayatte
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zayatte, Kamil 1985 births Living people Footballers from Conakry Guinean men's footballers Guinean expatriate men's footballers Guinea men's international footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Men's association football utility players 2008 Africa Cup of Nations players 2012 Africa Cup of Nations players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players Guinean Muslims RC Lens players BSC Young Boys players Hull City A.F.C. players Konyaspor footballers İstanbul Başakşehir F.K. players Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players Al Raed FC players Ligue 1 players Premier League players English Football League players Swiss Super League players Süper Lig players Saudi Pro League players Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Guinean emigrants to France