William Paul Troost-Ekong is a professional football player who plays a center-back position for a Greek Super League club PAOK and also for the Nigeria national team. He was born on September 1st, 1993 in Haarlem, Netherlands and as a result of that, he was eligible to play for both the Netherlands and Nigeria in international football. In 2015, he made his debut for Nigeria and has earned more than 60 caps since then.
Early Life
William Paul Troost-Ekong was born on September 1st, 1993 in Haarlem, Netherlands. His father is an indigene of Etinan in Etinan Local Government area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria and he has a Dutch mother. Ekong was raised in the Netherlands but he regularly visited his family at their home in Ikeja, Lagos State. Troost-Ekong had his secondary education at Hockerill Anglo-European College, Bishop Stortford, England. He has two siblings; a sister and a younger brother named Emily and Everest.
Career
International Career
Ekong represented the Netherlands at the under-19 and under-20 youth levels before leaving them to represent Nigeria. In June 2015, he made his senior international debut for the Super Eagles against Chad in an Africa Nations Cup (AFCON) qualifying match.
In 2016, he made three starts for the senior team before he was selected for Nigeria’s Under-23 team in their 35-man provisional squad for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. During the 2018 FIFA World Cup which was hosted in Russia, he was named in Nigeria’s 23-man squad, this took place in June 2018.
In 2019 Africa’s Cup of Nations, Troost-Ekong was named in the country’s 23-man squad where he scored a late goal (89th-minute) winner against South Africa to send his team through to the semi-finals on the way to a third-place finish.
He was given the captain badge in the delayed 2021 Africa Cup of Nations where he was named in the tournament Technical Study Group’s Best XI of the Group Stage which he scored against Guinea-Bissau. Sadly, Nigeria went on to be knocked out by Tunisia in the following round.
Club Career
Troost-Ekong club career started in the Netherlands with FC Groningen and FC Dordrecht, but at youth level, he did that in England for Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur.
In July 2015, he moved abroad and signed for Belgian club KAA Gent which he was immediately given out to Norwegian club FK Haugessund on a loaned deal. After two years, Troost-Ekong signed for Turkish Super Lig club Bursaspor. He only used a year in the club before joining Italian Serie A club Udinese.
On 29 September 2020, he signed a five-year contract deal with Watford in the EFL Championship. He scored his first goal for the club in a match against Coventry City In a 3-2 win, on the 7th of November 2020.
Personal Life
Troost-Ekong is not married but has a girlfriend and a son by name Oscar.
In April 2019, he said that playing for Nigeria was his “best decision ever”.
Net Worth
He earns a good amount of money from his career and has made a huge impact in the world of football. He earns €19,000 weekly and €988,000 annually in Watford. Ekong has an estimated net worth of $4 million.
