Edouard Kayembe Kayembe

Edo Kayembe's route to English football ran through Kananga, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and a string of youth sides at home: AS Efokan, US Tshinkunku, SC Rojolu and Sharks XI FC. In 2017 he moved to the R.S.C. Anderlecht academy, and he made his senior debut for the Brussels club that December.

Anderlecht was where he learned the professional game, but he was not a fixture there. He made roughly 31 to 33 league appearances before leaving for K.A.S. Eupen in September 2020 for a fee of about €1 million. At Eupen he played 40 league matches over two seasons and scored four goals.

Watford signed him in January 2022 on an eight-and-a-half-year contract, at a reported fee of between €4 million and €4.7 million. The length of the deal has been matched by his time at the club. By September 2026 he had made 149 league appearances for Watford and scored 18 goals. One of them earned him the Skechers Goal of the Month award in the 2025/26 Championship season.

Kayembe's international career began in the age groups: he won two caps for the DR Congo U23 side in 2019. His senior debut came on 10 October 2019 against Algeria. He has since collected 46 senior caps and scored twice for his country. He was named in the DR Congo squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

He has not yet won a major senior trophy with a club.