José Kanté


José Kanté Martínez is a Guinean professional footballer who plays for Polish club Legia Warsaw and the Guinea national team as a winger.

Club career

Born in Sabadell, Province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, Kanté only played lower league or amateur football in his country of birth initially, representing CE Manresa, UE Rubí, AE Prat and Atlético Malagueño. He scored his first goal in Segunda División B while at the service of the third club, in a 2–1 away win against CF Badalona on 11 November 2012.
In June 2014, Kanté signed with Cypriot First Division side AEK Larnaca FC, where he shared teams with a host of compatriots. He played his first top-flight game on 31 August of that year, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 0–2 home loss to APOEL FC.
Kanté moved to the Polish Ekstraklasa in January 2016, going on to remain several years in the country with Górnik Zabrze and Wisła Płock. In the 2016–17 season he scored ten goals, helping to a final ninth-place finish.
On 18 June 2018, Kanté signed for Legia Warsaw in the same league. The following 31 January, he joined Gimnàstic de Tarragona on loan for the remainder of the Spanish second-tier campaign.

International career

Of Guinean descent, Kanté opted to represent that nation even though he did not speak French nor any of the local dialects when he was first summoned by manager Kanfory Lappé Bangoura in November 2016. He earned his first cap on the 13th, playing 25 minutes in a 1–2 home defeat against DR Congo for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Career statistics

International

International goals

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.16 October 2018Stade Régional Nyamirambo, Kigali, Rwanda1–01–12019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2.17 November 2019Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry, Guinea2–02–02021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification