William Troost-Ekong, a centre back for Watford and the Super Eagles of Nigeria, has confirmed his exit from the English Championship team.
Ekong, who is also the Super Eagles of Nigeria’s vice-captain at the moment, announced on Monday that his three-year tenure with the team was coming to an end.
On his verified Instagram account, the Super Eagles defense thanked everyone who helped make his time worthwhile at the stadium, including the medical staff, security personnel, and volunteers.
He wrote, “The moment has come for me to move on from @watfordfcofficial after three special seasons shared with everyone involved.
“From everyone at the restaurant, security workers, volunteers at the stadium to the medical, office staff and all the rest, you have made my time what it was.
“The coaches and most of all my teammates, I can only say thank you!!!
“The Pozzo family for believing in me and the important five years of my career at both clubs with the highlight of the promotion and a chance to achieve my boyhood dream of playing in the Premier League.
“To all the fans, thank you for your support, it has been special going from watching as a boy to stepping on the pitch as a player.
“Now a fan again, I wish for promotion just as much as all of you and will be back watching from the stands in the future.
“COYH! All the best,” he added.
Born in the Netherlands into a mixed Dutch and Nigerian family, Ekong 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 60 caps.
On August 17, 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 September 29, 2020, Troost-Ekong signed for EFL Championship side Watford on a five-year contract deal. He scored his first goal for the club in a win over Coventry City on November 7, 2020.
