Cheikhou Kouyaté (born 21 December 1989) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder or centre-back for the Senegal national team.

He played ten games before moving to Anderlecht aged 19, where he made 206 appearances and won the Belgian First Division A four times.

In June 2014, he joined West Ham United of the Premier League, and four years later he transferred to Crystal Palace for an estimated £9.5 million.

Kouyaté began his footballing career in 1996 in his hometown with ASC Yego Dakar and was scouted by RWDM Brussels in September 2006.

[17] He scored his third goal of the season in a 2–2 draw with Norwich City on 26 September, netting the equalizer in the 90th minute to rescue a point for West Ham.

On 21 February, he was dismissed by referee Jonathan Moss in a 5–1 FA Cup win at Blackburn Rovers, only for the card to be rescinded a few days later.

[22] On 4 August 2016, Kouyaté scored West Ham's first ever goal at the Olympic Stadium, coming in the eighth minute of a Europa League game against NK Domžale.

[24] On 8 April 2017, Kouyaté scored a "stunning low 25-yard strike", as West Ham beat relegation rivals Swansea City.

[27] Kouyaté marked the headed goal with a lowered crossed-armed celebration, designed to help raise awareness about the ongoing slavery in Libya.

[28] On 1 August 2018, Kouyaté completed a move to fellow London club Crystal Palace on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee, believed to be £9.5 million.

[32] Kouyaté played in Palace's run to the semi-finals of the 2021–22 FA Cup, scoring in a 2–1 home win over Stoke City in the fifth round on 1 March.

[33] In May 2022, Kouyaté called his Senegalese teammate Idrissa Gueye a "real man" for reportedly refusing to wear a Paris Saint-Germain shirt with a rainbow-coloured number for LGBT rights.

On 29 February 2012, Kouyaté made his debut for the Senegal senior team as a 56th-minute substitute for Mohamed Diamé in a goalless friendly draw away to South Africa.