Cheikhou Kouyaté (born 21 December 1989) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club
Crystal Palace and captains the Senegal national team.Kouyaté moved from Senegal to Belgium in 2006, having been offered a youth contract at RWDM Brussels.
After breaking into the first team, he went on to play just ten appearances before moving to Anderlecht aged 19.
In June 2014, he joined West Ham of the Premier League.
He represented the Senegal national team at the 2012 Olympics.