Cheikhou Kouyaté

Cheikhou Kouyaté

Kouyaté with Anderlecht in 2011
Personal information
Full name Cheikhou Kouyaté
Date of birth (1989-12-21) 21 December 1989
Place of birth Dakar, Senegal
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[1]
Playing position Midfielder / Defender
Club information
Current team
 West Ham United
Number 8
Youth career
1996–2006 ASC Yego Dakar
2006–2007 Brussels
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2007–2008 Brussels 10 (0)
2008–2014 Anderlecht 153 (4)
2008–2009 → Kortrijk (loan) 26 (3)
2014– West Ham United 53 (8)
National team‡
2007 Senegal U20 3 (2)
2012 Senegal Olympic 4 (0)
2012– Senegal 17 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:31, 24 January 2016 (UTC).
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 07:52, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Cheikhou Kouyaté (born 21 December 1989) is a Senegalese footballer who plays as a central midfielder for English club West Ham United.

Kouyaté moved from Senegal to Belgium in 2006, having been offered a youth contract at Brussels. After breaking in to the first team, he went on to play just ten appearances before moving to Belgium team Anderlecht aged 19. In June 2014, he joined West Ham United. He represented his country's national team at the 2012 Olympics.

Career

Kouyaté praying before a West Ham match, 2014

Early career

Kouyaté began his footballing career in 1996 in his hometown with ASC Yego Dakar and was scouted by Brussels in September 2006. Brussels then signed the player in January the following year.[2] He went on to play ten league appearances for the first team between 2007 and 2008.[3]

Anderlecht

As Kouyaté turned 19, he left Brussels as his former employers did not pay him three months of wage. He subsequently moved to Belgian rivals Anderlecht on a four-year deal for a free transfer.[4] Kouyaté went on to make 153 league appearances for Anderlecht, scoring four goals in five seasons at the club. He won the 2009–10, 2011–12, 2012–13 and 2013–14 league titles as well as the 2010–11, 2012–13 and 2013–14 Belgian Super Cups.[3][5]

West Ham United

2014–15

On 18 June 2014, Kouyaté signed for West Ham United on a four-year contract.[6] Kouyaté made his West Ham debut on 16 August 2014 in a 1–0 home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. His performance was described as "impressive" by the BBC.[7] The following week manager Sam Allardyce compared him to ex-Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira.[8] On 28 December Kouyaté scored his first West Ham goal, in a 1–2 defeat by Arsenal.[9] His second goal of the season came on 8 February 2015 in a 1–1 draw with Manchester United. 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.[10][11] He scored two further goals in the season, in a 2–2 away draw with Tottenham Hotspur and in a 2–1 away defeat to Leicester City.[12][13] Kouyaté finished the season having played 31 of a possible 38 league games.[14]

2015–16

On 9 August 2015, Kouyaté scored the opening goal in the 43rd minute in a 2–0 win over Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.[15] He scored in a 4–3 home defeat to Bournemouth on 22 August 2015.[16] He scored his third goal of the season in a 2–2 draw with Norwich City on 26 September 2015, netting the equalizer in the 90th minute to rescue a point for West Ham. [17] On Tuesday the 2nd of February, he scored in a 2-0 premier league home win over Aston villa, this was his 4th of the season and 8th overall for West Ham.

International career

Kouyaté was called up aged 18 to the Senegal U-20s in the same year as his Brussels debut. He scored two goals in just three games for the side in 2007.

In February 2012, Kouyaté was called up to the Senegal first team. He has currently made 11 caps. 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 ended in a knockout in the quarter final. In January 2015, he was a member of Senegal's squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea.[18]

Career statistics

As of 30 January 2016[19][20]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Brussels 2007–08 Belgian First Division 10000——100
Total 10000——100
Anderlecht 2009–10 Belgian Pro League 21131—90332
2010–11 Belgian Pro League 23120—80331
2011–12 Belgian Pro League 38000—100480
2012–13 Belgian Pro League 33140—80451
2013–14 Belgian Pro League 38120—70471
Total 1534111—4202065
Kortrijk (loan) 2008–09 Belgian First Division 26300—00263
Total 26300—00263
West Ham United 2014–15 Premier League 3141000—324
2015–16 224101020253
Total 538201020577
Career total 241141311044029915

References

  1. ↑ "Premier League Player Profile Cheikhou Kouyaté". Premier League. Barclays Premier League. 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  2. ↑ FC BRUSSELS Players on www.rwdm-brussels.be
  3. 1 2 "CHEIKHOU KOUYATE". www.whufc.com. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  4. ↑ Cheikhou Kouyaté moet van de rechter naar Anderlecht on www.nieuwsblad.be
  5. ↑ Cheikhou Kouyaté profile at Soccerway
  6. ↑ Hammers complete Kouyate transfer on www.whufc.com
  7. ↑ Rose, Gary (16 August 2014). "West Ham United 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  8. ↑ "Sam Allardyce: When I look at West Ham signing Cheikhou Kouyate I see Patrick Vieira". The Evening Standard. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  9. ↑ "West Ham United 1–2 Arsenal". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  10. ↑ "Allardyce singles out West Ham star for special praise after Manchester United draw". www.london24.com. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  11. ↑ "Kouyate's vote of thanks". www.whufc.com. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  12. ↑ "Tottenham 2–2 West Ham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  13. ↑ "Leicester City 2-1 West Ham United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  14. ↑ "Games played by Cheilhou Kouyate in season 2014–15". www.soccerbase.com. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  15. ↑ Osborne, Chris (9 August 2015). "Arsenal 0-2 West Ham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  16. ↑ "West Ham United 3 - 4 AFC Bournemouth Match report - 22/08/2015 Premier League - Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 2015-09-26.
  17. ↑ "West Ham United 2-2 Norwich City". BBC. Retrieved 2015-09-26.
  18. ↑ "Senegal off to the perfect start". www.whufc.com. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  19. ↑ "C. KOUYATÉ". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  20. ↑ "Cheikhou Kouyaté". Soccerbase. Retrieved 20 June 2015.

External links

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