It really isn’t an understatement to say that it’s been a dream start to life at West Ham United for young midfielder Mohamadou Kanté.
After returning from his loan at Paris FC in their promotion-winning 2024/25 season from Ligue 2, the young Frenchman immediately joined the first team for their pre-season trips to Germany and the United States.
Continuing his development with our U21s, Kanté announced himself in style by scoring 40 minutes into his debut at Woking in the National League Cup in August, showing off two of the many qualities he has come to be known for: power and finishing.
He followed up his debut with another goal off the bench against Premier League 2 defending champions Manchester City and has since gone on to score four goals and provide three assists for the development team, his most recent an absolute rocket into the top corner on his so-called weaker foot during Friday night's 3-0 win over Liverpool.
"Yes, frankly, you could say it's been a dream start," smiled the 20-year-old, who also signed a new contract with the Club until the summer of 2031 late last month. "I'm very happy to have scored four goals, and I hope to continue. I'm very happy to have extended my contract and scored my fourth goal.
"I hope it continues and that I score many more goals and have a much greater influence on the game. I hope so."
An absolute ROCKET from Kanté on his “weak” foot 🚀 pic.twitter.com/Nw7UJgdJfv
— West Ham United (@WestHam) November 7, 2025
"Honestly, on the shot, there is no explanation for it," he laughed. "I controlled the ball, and I was determined to hit the goal. Then it went in like that. It was a great goal."
That unstoppable finish rounded off a 'benchmark performance' from our young Hammers, who extended their unbeaten run to seven games in Premier League 2. In fact, they have only been beaten once in all competitions in their last eleven outings.
"I think we played really well as a team," Kanté continued. "We all stuck together, even when things weren't going so well and when they were playing a bit better. It was a real team effort, a top performance from the whole team.
"I think it's a benchmark performance in terms of attack. We played a very good match, and I think we were all happy together after the match."
His performances with the U21s have rewarded him with chances to impress over in first-team training - opportunities Kanté will hope keep coming his way.
He added: "With the pros, it's a different environment, it's a higher level. There are some very high-calibre players, so I'll have to raise my game. I've only just discovered some of the players, so I think it will take a little time to adapt.
"But in any case, I'm very happy, and I hope it will continue and that I'll get stronger as quickly as possible."