José Kanté

José Kanté Martínez (born 27 September 1990) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward.

Born in Spain, he played for the Guinea national team, representing the country in three Africa Cup of Nations.

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 (all in his native region) and Atlético Malagueño. He scored his first goal in the 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 the 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 campaign in the Segunda División.

Kanté terminated his Legia contract by mutual consent on 23 February 2021. On 10 March, he moved to Kazakhstan Premier League club FC Kairat on a deal until December 2022, but left four months after it expired.

On 27 August 2022, Kanté joined Cangzhou Mighty Lions F.C. on a free transfer. On 24 September, in his third appearance and first start in the Chinese Super League, he scored all of his team's goals in a 4–3 victory over leaders Wuhan Three Towns FC, which ended the opponent's 17-game unbeaten run since getting promoted the previous season.

In 2023, Kante signed for J1 League club Urawa Red Diamonds. On 27 November that year, having scored 12 times in all competitions, the 33-year-old announced his retirement at the end of the 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.

Kanté was included in the squads for Guinea at the 2019, 2021 and 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

International

 * Scores and results list Guinea goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kanté goal.

Honours
Legia Warsaw
 * Ekstraklasa: 2019–20, 2020–21

Kairat
 * Kazakhstan Cup: 2021

Urawa Red Diamonds
 * AFC Champions League: 2022

Individual
 * Ekstraklasa Player of the Month: February 2020