Leeds strike surprise deal for former West Ham and Nottingham Forest star compared to Patrick Vieira
Today at 21:33
Leeds United are closing in on the signing of Cheikhou Kouyate, talkSPORT understands.
The midfielder is set to move to Elland Road on a deal until the end of the season as a result of their mounting injury crisis.
There will be an option to extend that by a further 12 months.
Along with an injury to Ilia Gruev, Leeds are facing the prospect of being without club captain Ethan Ampadu until late December as a result of a serious knee injury.
As a result, Leeds have moved for Kouyate, who is available as a free agent after leaving Nottingham Forest over the summer.
The 34-year-old is no stranger to English football having first moved to the Premier League in 2014 with West Ham.
Following his debut for the Hammers, ex-Irons boss Sam Allardyce compared him to Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira, saying: “I can see why Cheikhou Kouyate has already been likened to Patrick Vieira —just look at his size and the way he moves.
“I thought he was our man-of-the-match against Tottenham last week and I, for one, would be delighted if he came close to emulating Patrick's consistent level of performance.
“It was a brilliant debut and one which you don't see too often in the Premier League. Normally, when players first come here from abroad, they're shouting for pure oxygen because they struggle to cope with the sheer intensity of our game.”
After four years with West Ham, Kouyate joined Crystal Palace in 2019 for £9.5million, making 141 appearances for the Eagles.
He then joined Nottingham Forest where he spent two seasons following their promotion to the Premier League.
However after being limited to just two top flight starts last term, he moved on and now looks set to continue his career in the Championship.
Leeds will be hoping to secure promotion back to the Premier League this term having lost in the play-off final last term.
However the Whites currently sit fifth in the table with four wins from a possible nine this term.
Should a deal go through, Kouyate could make his Leeds debut during their clash with Sheffield United on Friday, October 18.
That match is exclusively live on talkSPORT 2.
