Cheikhou Kouyaté (born 21 December 1989) is a Senegalese 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 plays as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for the Senegal national team. He most recently played for

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

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

. Kouyaté moved from Senegal to Belgium in 2006, having been offered a youth contract at RWDM Brussels. He played ten games before moving to

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

aged 19, where he made 206 appearances and won the

Belgian First Division A The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

four times. In June 2014, he joined

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

of the

, and four years later he transferred to Crystal Palace for an estimated £9.5 million. Kouyaté represented the Senegal national team at the

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. He played at two

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

and four

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

tournaments, including Senegal's victory in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Club career

Early career

Kouyaté began his footballing career in 1996 in his hometown with ASC Yego Dakar and was scouted by RWDM Brussels in September 2006. RWDM Brussels then signed the player in January the following year. He went on to play ten league appearances for the first team between 2007 and 2008.

Anderlecht

As Kouyaté turned 19, he left Brussels because his former employers did not pay him three months' worth of wages. He subsequently moved to

in the same city on a four-year deal for a free transfer. He also had a loan at

KV Kortrijk Koninklijke Voetbalclub Kortrijk (often simply called KV Kortrijk or KVK) is a Belgian professional football club based in Kortrijk, West Flanders. They play in the Belgian First Division, and they achieved their best ranking ever during the 20 ...

. Kouyaté made 153 league appearances for Anderlecht, scoring four goals in five seasons at the club. He won the 2009–10, 2011–12,

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

and 2013–14 league titles as well as the 2010–11, 2012–13 and 2013–14

Belgian Super Cup The Belgian Super Cup ( ; ; ), ''Pro League Supercup'', is a Belgian club competition played as a single match between the Belgian Pro League champions (also received the Super Cup host) and the Belgian Cup winners. If both teams are the same, ...

West Ham United

2014–15 season

On 18 June 2014, Kouyaté signed for

on a four-year contract for a fee of £7 million. He made his West Ham debut on 16 August in a 1–0 home defeat to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

, for which his performance was described as "impressive" by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. The following week, manager

Sam Allardyce Samuel Allardyce (born 19 October 1954) is an English football manager and former professional player. Allardyce made 578 league and cup appearances in a 21-year career spent mostly in the Football League, as well as brief spells in the North ...

compared him to ex-

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

captain

Patrick Vieira Patrick Paul Vieira (; born 23 June 1976) is a French professional association football, football manager and former player who is the head coach of Serie A club Genoa CFC, Genoa. He was named in the FIFA 100 of the greatest living footballers i ...

. On 28 December, Kouyaté scored his first West Ham goal in a 2–1 defeat to Arsenal. His second goal of the season came on 8 February 2015 in a 1–1 draw with

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

. His performance in the game won praise from manager Allardyce for Kouyaté's Man of the Match performance which was also singled out as the Individual Performance of the Season, by a West Ham player, at the clubs' annual awards. He scored two further goals in the season, in a 2–2 away draw with Tottenham and in a 2–1 away defeat to

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. Kouyaté finished the season having played 31 out of a possible 38

games.

2015–16 season

On 9 August 2015, Kouyaté scored the opening goal in the 43rd minute in a 2–0 win over Arsenal at the

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a association football, football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal F.C., Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. ...

. He then scored in a 4–3 home defeat to

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

on 22 August. He scored his third goal of the season in a 2–2 draw with

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

on 26 September, netting the equalizer in the 90th minute to rescue a point for West Ham. In March 2016, Kouyate signed a new, five-year contract with West Ham that could keep him at the club until 2021. Kouyaté was sent-off twice during the 2015–16 season and on both occasions had the card rescinded by

The Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

(FA). On 21 February, he was dismissed by referee Jonathan Moss in a 5–1

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

win at

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

, only for the card to be rescinded a few days later. On 2 April, he was dismissed in a Premier League game at the

Boleyn Ground Boleyn Ground, often referred to as Upton Park, was a football stadium in Upton Park, London, Upton Park, east London, England. It was the home of West Ham United F.C., West Ham United from 1904 to 2016, and was briefly used by Charlton Athletic ...

against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

by referee

Mark Clattenburg Mark Clattenburg (born 13 March 1975) is an English former professional Association football, football Referee (association football), referee. Clattenburg is a former member of the Premier League and the Durham County Football Association an ...

. This too, however, was overturned a few days later.

2016–17 season

On 4 August 2016, Kouyaté scored West Ham's first ever goal at the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...

, coming in the eighth minute of a

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

game against

NK Domžale Nogometni klub Domžale (), commonly referred to as NK Domžale or simply Domžale, is a Slovenian professional Association football, football club based in the town of Domžale that competes in the Slovenian PrvaLiga, the top tier of Slovenian ...

. He also scored the second in the game, which West Ham won 3–0. On 26 October 2016, Kouyaté scored the opening goal in a 2–1

EFL Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

victory against rivals Chelsea. On 8 April 2017, Kouyaté scored a "stunning low 25-yard strike", as West Ham beat relegation rivals

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

2017–18 season

On 23 September 2017, Kouyaté scored his first goal of the season in a 3–2 loss against Tottenham. Kouyaté's final goal for the club came on 24 November 2017, scoring the equaliser in a 1–1 draw with

. Kouyaté marked the headed goal with a lowered crossed-armed celebration, designed to help raise awareness about the ongoing slavery in Libya.

Crystal Palace

On 1 August 2018, Kouyaté completed a move to fellow London club Crystal Palace on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee, believed to be £9.5 million. He made his debut ten days later in a 2–0 win at

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

, as an 88th-minute substitute for

Andros Townsend Andros Darryl Townsend (born 16 July 1991) is an English professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Turkish Süper Lig club Antalyaspor. A graduate of the Tottenham Hotspur academy, Townsend was initially loaned out to several Le ...

. He scored his first goal in his 54th game on 26 December 2019, equalising in a 2–1 win over his previous club at

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst, in the London Borough of Croydon, England, which is the home ground of Premier League club Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted interna ...

. After the arrival of Patrick Vieira as manager in 2021, Kouyaté continued to play in midfield or an expanded defence in a 5–3–2 formation (as against part of a back-four in 2020–21) while his former midfield partners

Luka Milivojević Luka Milivojević ( sr-Cyrl, Лука Миливојевић, ; born 7 April 1991) is a Serbian professional Association football, footballer who plays for Shabab Al Ahli Club, Shabab Al Ahli as a midfielder. Milivojević began his career with F ...

and

James McArthur James McFarlane McArthur (born 7 October 1987) is a Scottish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Central midfielder, central midfielder. McArthur started his career at Hamilton Academical F.C., Hamil ...

waned in importance. Kouyaté played in Palace's run to the semi-finals of the

2021–22 FA Cup The 2021–22 FA Cup was the 141st season and marked the 150th anniversary of the first FA Cup, Football Association Challenge Cup, the oldest Association football, football tournament in the world, started in the 1871–72 FA Cup, 1871–72 se ...

, scoring in a 2–1 home win over

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

in the fifth round on 1 March. In May 2022, Kouyaté called his Senegalese teammate

Idrissa Gueye Idrissa Gana Gueye (born 26 September 1989) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Everton and the Senegal national team. Starting his career at Diambars in his native Senegal, Gueye joined Fre ...

a "real man" for reportedly refusing to wear a

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

shirt with a rainbow-coloured number for

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...

. Vieira said that he would have a private discussion with Kouyaté.

Nottingham Forest

On 13 August 2022, Kouyaté signed a two-year contract with Premier League club

. He made his debut for Forest in a 1–1 draw with Everton on 21 August and scored his first goal in a 3–2 loss to Bournemouth on 4 September. On 5 June 2024, the club said he would be leaving in the summer when his contract expired.

International career

Kouyaté was called up aged 18 to the Senegal under-20s in the same year as his RWDM Brussels debut. He scored two goals in just three games for the side in 2007. On 29 February 2012, Kouyaté made his debut for the Senegal senior team as a 56th-minute substitute for

Mohamed Diamé Mohamed Diamé (born 14 June 1987), also known as Momo Diamé, is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. Though born in France, Diamé represented Senegal at international level and made 31 appearances before retiring from nationa ...

in a goalless friendly draw away to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. At the time, he had been in the process of naturalisation as a Belgian citizen, and had been linked to the European country's

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

. In the same year, he was announced to be in the squad for Senegal Olympic football team. He played in every game as Senegal's debut appearance in the

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

, which ended in a knockout in the quarter-final. In January 2015, he was a member of the squad for the

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 ...

, held in

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

. He scored his first international goal on 5 September in

2017 Africa Cup of Nations The 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2017 or CAN 2017), known as the Total 2017 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 31st edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's football champions ...

qualification Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

, in a 2–0 win away to

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

. He was part of the 23-man squad for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded t ...

in Russia, and played all seven games as Senegal finished runners-up in the

2019 Africa Cup of Nations The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2019 or CAN 2019), known as the Total SE, Total 2019 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's associati ...

in Egypt. At the

2021 Africa Cup of Nations The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (also referred to as AFCON 2021 or CAN 2021), known as the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's ass ...

, he played six matches for the winners, having been suspended for the last 16 against

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

. Returning for the quarter-finals against

, he restored their lead in a 3–1 win having been on for two minutes as a substitute. Kouyaté was a member of Senegal's squad for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

. He started the opening match against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, where he sustained a hamstring injury that led to him playing no further part at the tournament. In December 2023, he was named in Senegal's squad for the postponed

2023 Africa Cup of Nations The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, known in short as the 2023 AFCON or CAN 2023 and for sponsor (commercial), sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, was the 34th edition of the biennial Africa Cup of Nations tournam ...

held in the

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

Personal life

Kouyaté is married to Zahra Mbow. They have a son born in 2021. According to various Senegalese media outlets, Kouyaté has a second wife. Kouyaté is a practising

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and made the

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

pilgrimage to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

. He was appointed a Grand Officer of the National Order of the Lion by

President of Senegal The president of Senegal () is the head of state of Senegal. In accordance with the 2001 Senegalese constitutional referendum, constitutional reform of 2001 and since a 2016 Senegalese constitutional referendum, referendum that took place on 20 ...

Macky Sall Macky Sall (, , ; born 11 December 1961) is a Senegalese politician who served as the fourth president of Senegal from 2012 to 2024. He previously served as the eighth Prime Minister of Senegal, prime minister from 2004 to 2007, under President ...

following the nation's victory at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Senegal's goal tally first.''

Honours

Anderlecht *

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...

: 2009–10, 2011–12,

, 2013–14 *

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Senegal *

African Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

; runner-up:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Individual * Grand Officer of the National Order of the Lion: 2022

References

External links

Profile
at the Nottingham Forest F.C. website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kouyate, Cheikhou 1989 births Living people Footballers from Dakar Senegalese men's footballers 21st-century Senegalese sportsmen Senegal men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders Men's association football central defenders R.W.D.M. Brussels F.C. players R.S.C. Anderlecht players K.V. Kortrijk players West Ham United F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Nottingham Forest F.C. players Belgian Pro League players Premier League players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players 2017 Africa Cup of Nations players 2018 FIFA World Cup players 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players 2022 FIFA World Cup players 2023 Africa Cup of Nations players Africa Cup of Nations–winning players Olympic footballers for Senegal Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Senegalese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in England Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Senegalese expatriate sportspeople in England Senegalese Muslims Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of Senegal