After being scouted for a number of seasons, West Ham took the decision to finally sign Cheikhou Kouyate last summer for an undisclosed fee. He chose to join the East London club despite many offers from various European clubs and signed on a four year deal. Many fans saw the transfer as a bit of a gamble, as Kouyate had only been playing at Belgian League level for much of his career, and a step up to the Premier League was a big move for the footballer. However, he has proven to be a breath of fresh air for us and we look forward to him developing even further in the future.
Kouyate first burst onto the scene with over 150 appearances for Belgian club Anderlecht, where he enjoyed successive league titles and consistent football in the Champions League. He has also been capped for his country seventeen times and was sorely missed by The Hammers whilst he went off to the Africa Cup of Nations. It was a transfer deal that many thought would need time to settle in, but Kouyate hit the ground running and was already pretty much a first team player.
His versatility has already led manager Sam Allardyce referring to him as ‘the next Patrick Vieira’. The sheer physicality and presence of the player has led him to dominate the middle of the park in his natural defensive midfield role. Furthermore, as well as turning defence into attack, he has also proved his defensive responsibilities as he has been filling in at centre back as of late. We saw in the previous game at Upton Park how solid he was at the back in keeping out a multi-million pound front line for ninety minutes.
The Senegalese international has also showed that he can turn up in the big games, despite his lack of high level experience. He has popped up with goals against both Arsenal and Manchester United in his primary campaign, thanks to his goal threat from set pieces and his long range ability when shooting from distance. Fellow Senegal signing Diafra Sakho has also given Kouyate mass confidence following his move to a completely different environment, and has the mental capacity to know that we are all behind him.
West Ham are hopeful on keeping hold of him for quite some time, and tying up an even long term deal may be crucial in keeping his services at the club. The defensive midfield role is something of great important come the summer, with Alex Song’s loan move expiring and Mark Noble’s contract finishing. We hope Kouyate will become one of the first names on the team sheet for years to come, and his secondary role in the back line would not go amiss either, with the likes of James Collins growing old, whilst Winston Reid’s situation is becoming rather untenable.
