William Troost-Ekong Biography: Career, Family, Honor, and Net Worth

William Paul Troost-Ekong (born 1 September 1993) is a professional footballer from Nigeria who plays as a centre-back for a EFL Championship side, Watford. He is also the captain of the Nigeria national team named Super Eagles.

Early Life

William Troost-Ekong was born on the 1st of September, 1993, in Haarlem, Netherlands. A Dutch and Nigerian parent gave him birth. He grew up in England and attended his secondary school at Hockerill Anglo-European College in Bishop’s Stortford.

Career

Professional Career

Troost-Ekong began his professional football career in the Netherlands with FC Groningen and FC Dordrecht before playing junior games for Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur in England.

After being connected with transfers to Celtic and other foreign clubs, he signed for Belgian outfit KAA Gent in July 2015 and was immediately loaned out to Norwegian club FK Haugesund.

In July 2017, Troost-Ekong signed with Bursaspor of the Turkish Super Lig. On August 17, 2018, Troost-Ekong committed to play for Italian Serie A team Udinese. In his first Serie A season, he made 35 league appearances and was issued four cautions, which helped Udinese finish in 12th place. The following year, Udinese finished 13th, albeit with two more points. Troost-Ekong started in illustrious victories over AC Milan and Juventus during his two seasons at Le Zebrette, despite the team’s often disappointing league performances.

Troost-Ekong signed a five-year contract with EFL Championship team Watfordon September 29, 2020. On November 7, 2020, the club defeated Coventry City 3-2, and he scored his first goal for the team.

International Career

Initially chosen to compete for the Netherlands in the under-19 and under-20 junior levels, Troost-Ekong ultimately chose to compete for Nigeria. He participated for 90 minutes against Chad on June 13, 2015, for the Super Eagles in his debut senior international game.

He made three starts for the senior team in 2016 before being selected for Nigeria’s under-23 team in their 35-man preliminary roster for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. He was a member of Nigeria’s 23-man roster for the June 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Troost-Ekong, one of the 23 players selected for the country’s roster for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, scored the game-winning goal against South Africa in the 89th minute to send his team on its way to a third-place finish.

He captained the Super Eagles at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, and after scoring against Guinea-Bissau, the tournament’s Technical Study Group named him to the Best XI of the Group Stage. In the subsequent round, Tunisia eliminated Nigeria.