William Troost-Ekong Premier League Dream in Sight

His dream has always been to play in the English Premier League and until now the closest he had ever come to achieving that dream was during his time at Tottenham but the Lilly White side never saw him good enough to play in the English elite division and he was eventually shipped to the Netherlands. In desperation of playing in the Premier League, William Troost- Ekong dumped Serie A side, Udinese for Championship team Watford and that move seems to be paying off. With the Hornets needing just one point from the remaining three matches, the Super Eagles defender is just inches away from achieving his long-desired dream

All things being equal, Super Eagles vice-captain, William Troost-Ekong would be slugging it out with the best in the English top-flight as the Hornets are in good stead to gaining promotion to the Premier League.

Troost-Ekong helped Watford move to within a win of securing Premier League promotion as the Hornets sealed an excellent 1-0 victory away to Championship leaders Norwich on Tuesday.
The Canaries hoarded most of the possession at Carrow Road, but Watford’s defence, marshalled by Ekong held firm to carve out another clean sheet and their 25th league win of the season.
The Hornets can still afford to lose their remaining three league matches of the season and yet book their automatic promotion ticket should the trio of Swansea, Brentford and Bournemouth drop any more points before the end of the campaign.

It would be the fulfillment of an age-old dream for Troost-Ekong, who was once on the books of Tottenham Hotspur but never featured for the club in the Premier League before returning to the Netherlands.

But after proving his mettle in the Eredivisie, the Belgian Pro League, the Norwegian top-flight, the Turkish Super League, and the Serie A, the 27-year-old centre-back is closing on a date with Europe’s most glamorous league.

Troost-Ekong was relieved to see Watford bounce back from their defeat against Luton Town to silence Norwich City.
The Hornets bowed to a 1-0 defeat against the Hatters – a result which was a setback to their Premier League ambition.

The Nigerian international described the atmosphere in the dressing room after the hard-fought result, explaining what motivated them against the Canaries.
“There was a lot of shouts and a lot of dancing – general happiness, I think. Everyone was just relieved because it was a massive game and we tried to keep our heads cool and the pressure we had,” Troost-Ekong said.

“That was the message after penultimate Saturday’s defeat to Luton Town. In that game, we didn’t start well, were on the back foot throughout the whole game really.
“Everyone was upset, and we had to use moments like that to motivate ourselves for the Norwich game. So, we did that.

“We also knew that they were going to be playing under pressure. So, we needed to get at them from the start because we don’t want it to become a showcase game for them.
“From the first whistle, they knew we were here to get something. Yeah! We did that throughout the game.”

Occupying the second position in the English Championship having accrued 85 points from 43 fixtures, they have conceded the least goals too (28) – keeping a clean sheet in 21 games.
When asked what makes the team solid defensively, the former Udinese and Gent man said: “I think it’s a team effort. Since the manager, Xisco Munoz came in, the main thing that he changed was that he wanted us to play further away from the goal.
“So, we tried to stay higher as much as we can and on Wednesday, we played in Norwich’s half as much as we could.

“And I think if you stay away from your own goal, then it’s really harder for them to try and score. I can’t remember when teams break clear through our backline and get a one-on-one chance, and that’s a credit to the whole team.”

The 27-year-old centre-back began his career with Groningen.
He joined Udinese in 2018 and his move to Watford was the latest in a series of summer deals between the two clubs.
“I believe in the project for Watford to get back into the Premier League,” he told BBC Sport Africa.

“It’s always been my dream to play in the Premier League and Watford has given me the platform now to get there. Looking at the squad, I believe we have the quality to do it.”
Troost-Ekong made 66 appearances for Udinese.
“I’ve always made tactical decisions for my career and this felt like the right step now for me and my family,” he added.

Born in the Netherlands to a Nigerian father and a Dutch mother, Troost-Ekong played youth football at Tottenham and Fulham in England before starting his professional career with Groningen and Dordrecht in Holland.

He subsequently went on to play top-flight football with Haugesund in Norway, Gent in Belgium, and Bursaspor in Turkey before completing a move to Udinese in the summer of 2018.
Troost-Ekong registered 66 appearances for Udinese in all competitions in over two seasons, establishing himself as a regular starter in the playing XI.