William Paul Troost-Ekong (born 1 September 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League side Watford and is the vice-captain of the Nigeria national team (the Super Eagles).
Early Life and Career
Born in the Netherlands into a mixed Dutch and Nigerian family, he was eligible for both the Netherlands and Nigeria in international football. He made his debut for Nigeria in 2015 and has since earned more than 40 caps.
After playing football at youth level in England for Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur, Troost-Ekong began his senior career in the Netherlands with FC Groningen and FC Dordrecht.
After being linked abroad with transfers to Celtic among others, he signed for Belgian club KAA Gent in July 2015 and was immediately loaned out to Norwegian club FK Haugesund.
In July 2017, Troost-Ekong signed for Turkish Süper Lig club Bursaspor.
On 17 August 2018, Troost-Ekong joined Italian Serie A club Udinese. In his debut season in the Serie A, he made 35 league appearances and was booked four times, helping Udinese to 12th position. The next season, Udinese finished 13th, albeit with two more points. Despite the team’s relatively lacklustre league campaigns, Troost-Ekong started (and played for the full 90 minutes) in memorable victories against AC Milan and Juventus in his two seasons at Le Zebrette.
On 29 September 2020, William Troost-Ekong signed for EFL Championship side Watford on a five-year contract deal. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 win over Coventry City on 7 November 2020.
Super Eagles Career (International)
Troost-Ekong was born in the Netherlands to a Dutch mother, Eleanore Troost and a Nigerian father. He has two siblings, Emily and Everest.
Despite representing the Netherlands at under-19 and under-20 youth levels, Troost-Ekong eventually chose to represent Nigeria.
He made his senior international debut for the Super Eagles on 13 June 2015, playing 90 minutes in an AFCON qualifying match against Chad.
He made three starts for the senior team in 2016 before being selected for Nigeria’s under-23 team in their 35-man provisional squad for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.
In June 2018 he was named in Nigeria’s 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
In April 2019 he said that playing for Nigeria was his “best decision ever”. In June 2019, he was named in the country’s 23-man squad for the Africa Cup of Nations, where he scored an 89th-minute winner against South Africa to send his team through to the semi-finals on the way to a third-place finish.
Wife and Children
William Troost-Ekong is married to his beautiful oyibo wife, together they have a son.
Ekong finally got married to his long-term fiancée and mother of his son in a wedding ceremony that took place in London in October 2021.
The newly-wedded couple has been in a relationship for a long time, and they welcomed their son, Oscar T-Ekong, following the 2018 World Cup.
The former Udinese defender took to his Instagram account to share the news of his marriage with his followers and fans.Ekong posted a picture of himself and his wife with the caption: Mr and Mrs.
Salary
William Troost-Ekong salary is £988,000 which he earn annually in Watford FC.
Net Worth
William Troost-Ekong’s net worth as of 2021 is estimated to be around $1.8 million (net worth estimated in 2021).
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