Senegal captain Cheikhou Kouyate has signed a four year deal with Crystal Palace from West Ham for an undisclosed fee.
Born in Dakar, the midfielder moved to Belgium in 2006 after being offered a deal by RWDM Brussels which ended a spell of almost ten years with ASC Yego Dakar. After only a handful of appearances, the then nineteen year old moved to Anderlecht and following an early loan spell at Kortrijk, he went on to make over 150 appearances in around six years with the club.
Kouyate moved to the English Premier league in 2014 by joining West Ham and his combative style in central midfield earned him several rave reviews and even a comparison with Patrick Vieira.
With close to fifty international caps, Kouyate also played in the 2012 Olympics in London as well as a few appearances at under 20 level. At the World Cup in Russia, he made substitute appearances in Senegal’s opening game win against Poland and in the draw with Japan.
He earned a start in the final group game against Colombia which ended in defeat with Senegal becoming the first nation to exit the tournament based on FIFA Fair Play points system.
To date, Kouyate as made 129 appearances in the Premier League, scored 12 goals and had 7 assists.
