Cheikhou Kouyaté facts for kids
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Kouyaté playing for West Ham United in 2016
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Cheikhou Kouyaté | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 21 December 1989 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Dakar, Senegal | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder, centre-back | ||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–2006 | ASC Yego Dakar | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | RWDM Brussels | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | RWDM Brussels | 10 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2014 | Anderlecht | 153 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | → Kortrijk (loan) | 26 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2018 | West Ham United | 129 | (12) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2022 | Crystal Palace | 129 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2024 | Nottingham Forest | 33 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | Senegal U20 | 3 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | Senegal Olympic | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012– | Senegal | 92 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:58, 19 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:56, 26 March 2024 (UTC) |
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Cheikhou Kouyaté, born on December 21, 1989, is a professional footballer from Senegal. He plays as a defensive midfielder or a centre-back. He is also a key player for the Senegal national team. Most recently, he played for Premier League club Nottingham Forest.
Kouyaté moved from Senegal to Belgium in 2006 to join RWDM Brussels as a young player. After playing ten games there, he moved to Anderlecht when he was 19. He played 206 matches for Anderlecht and helped them win the Belgian First Division A four times. In June 2014, he joined West Ham United in the Premier League. Four years later, he moved to Crystal Palace.
Kouyaté has proudly represented the Senegal national team in many big tournaments. He played in the 2012 Olympics. He also played in two FIFA World Cup tournaments and four Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. A highlight of his career was helping Senegal win the Africa Cup of Nations in 2021.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Starting Out in Football
Cheikhou Kouyaté started his football journey in 1996 in his hometown with a team called ASC Yego Dakar. In September 2006, he was noticed by RWDM Brussels and joined them in January 2007. He played ten league games for their first team between 2007 and 2008.
Playing for Anderlecht
When Kouyaté turned 19, he left Brussels and joined Anderlecht in the same city. He signed a four-year deal. He also spent some time on loan at KV Kortrijk. Kouyaté played 153 league games for Anderlecht, scoring four goals over five seasons. During his time there, he helped the team win the Belgian Pro League four times (in 2009–10, 2011–12, 2012–13, and 2013–14). He also won the Belgian Super Cup three times.
Time at West Ham United
On June 18, 2014, Kouyaté joined West Ham United. He signed a four-year contract. He played his first game for West Ham on August 16, 2014, against Tottenham Hotspur. The BBC described his performance as "impressive." His manager, Sam Allardyce, even compared him to the famous former Arsenal captain, Patrick Vieira.
Kouyaté scored his first goal for West Ham on December 28, 2014, against Arsenal. He scored again on February 8, 2015, in a game against Manchester United. His great performance in that match earned him the "Man of the Match" award. He scored two more goals that season. He played in 31 out of 38 Premier League games that season.
More Seasons with West Ham
On August 9, 2015, Kouyaté scored the first goal in a 2–0 win against Arsenal. He scored again on August 22, 2015, against Bournemouth. In September, he scored a late goal in the 90th minute to help West Ham get a draw against Norwich City. In March 2016, Kouyaté signed a new five-year contract with West Ham.
During the 2015–16 season, Kouyaté was sent off (given a red card) twice. However, both times, the Football Association (FA) decided that the red cards were unfair and removed them.
On August 4, 2016, Kouyaté scored West Ham's first-ever goal at their new home, the Olympic Stadium. This happened during a Europa League game. He scored another goal in that same game, which West Ham won 3–0. In October 2016, he scored the first goal in a cup victory against rivals Chelsea. In April 2017, Kouyaté scored a fantastic long-range goal as West Ham beat Swansea City.
In September 2017, Kouyaté scored his first goal of the 2017–18 season against Tottenham. His final goal for West Ham came in November 2017, helping them draw against Leicester City.
Moving to Crystal Palace
On August 1, 2018, Kouyaté joined Crystal Palace. He signed a four-year deal. He made his first appearance for Crystal Palace ten days later in a win against Fulham. He scored his first goal for the club in his 54th game on December 26, 2019, helping his new team win against his old club, West Ham.
Kouyaté continued to play an important role in midfield for Crystal Palace. He helped the team reach the semi-finals of the 2021–22 FA Cup, even scoring a goal in a win against Stoke City in March 2022.
Playing for Nottingham Forest
On August 13, 2022, Kouyaté signed a two-year contract with another Premier League club, Nottingham Forest. He played his first game for Forest in a draw against Everton on August 21. He scored his first goal for them on September 4, 2022, against Bournemouth. His contract with Nottingham Forest ended in the summer of 2024.
International Career
Kouyaté was called up to the Senegal under-20s when he was just 18 years old in 2007. He scored two goals in only three games for the team that year.
On February 29, 2012, Kouyaté made his first appearance for the Senegal senior team. He came on as a substitute in a friendly game against South Africa. In the same year, he was chosen to be part of the Senegal Olympic football team. He played in every game during Senegal's first appearance in the Olympic tournament, where they reached the quarter-finals.
In January 2015, he was part of the Senegal squad for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. He scored his first goal for the national team on September 5, 2015, in a qualifying match for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations against Namibia.
He was also part of the 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He played in all seven games as Senegal finished as runners-up in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt. At the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, he played six matches for the team that won the tournament. He scored a goal in the quarter-finals against Equatorial Guinea, helping Senegal win 3–1.
Kouyaté was a member of Senegal's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He started the first match against the Netherlands. Unfortunately, he got a hamstring injury in that game and could not play any more matches in the tournament.
In December 2023, he was named in Senegal's squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations held in the Ivory Coast.
Personal Life
Cheikhou Kouyaté is married to Zahra Mbow, and they have a son who was born in 2021.
After Senegal won the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, Kouyaté was given a special award called "Grand Officer of the National Order of the Lion" by the President of Senegal, Macky Sall.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| RWDM Brussels | 2007–08 | Belgian First Division | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| K.V. Kortrijk (loan) | 2008–09 | Belgian Pro League | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 3 | ||
| Anderlecht | 2009–10 | Belgian Pro League | 21 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | 9 | 0 | 33 | 2 | |
| 2010–11 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | 33 | 1 | |||
| 2011–12 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | 48 | 0 | |||
| 2012–13 | 33 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | 45 | 1 | |||
| 2013–14 | 38 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | 47 | 1 | |||
| Total | 153 | 4 | 11 | 1 | — | 42 | 0 | 206 | 5 | |||
| West Ham United | 2014–15 | Premier League | 31 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 32 | 4 | |
| 2015–16 | 34 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 5 | ||
| 2016–17 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 36 | 4 | ||
| 2017–18 | 33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 37 | 2 | |||
| Total | 129 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 147 | 15 | ||
| Crystal Palace | 2018–19 | Premier League | 31 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 37 | 0 | |
| 2019–20 | 35 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 36 | 1 | |||
| 2020–21 | 36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 37 | 1 | |||
| 2021–22 | 27 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 31 | 1 | |||
| Total | 129 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 141 | 3 | |||
| Nottingham Forest | 2022–23 | Premier League | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 22 | 1 | |
| 2023–24 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| Total | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 36 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 480 | 22 | 28 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 47 | 2 | 566 | 27 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senegal | 2012 | 6 | 0 |
| 2013 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2016 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 10 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 11 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 3 | 0 | |
| Total | 92 | 4 | |
- Scores and results list Senegal's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 5 September 2015 | Sam Nujoma Stadium, Windhoek, Namibia |  Namibia |
1–0 | 2–0 | 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 2. | 15 November 2015 | Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor, Dakar, Senegal |  Madagascar |
1–0 | 3–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3. | 30 March 2021 | Stade Lat-Dior, Thiès, Senegal |  Eswatini |
1–1 | 1–1 | 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
| 4. | 30 January 2022 | Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium, Yaoundé, Cameroon |  Equatorial Guinea |
2–1 | 3–1 | 2021 Africa Cup of Nations |
Honours and Awards
Anderlecht
- Belgian Pro League: 2009–10, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14
- Belgian Super Cup: 2010, 2012, 2013
Senegal
- African Cup of Nations: 2021; runner-up: 2019
Individual
- Grand Officer of the National Order of the Lion: 2022
See also
In Spanish: Cheikhou Kouyaté para niños
