William Troost-Ekong


William Paul Troost-Ekong is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Italian club Udinese.
Born in the Netherlands into a mixed Dutch and Nigerian family and being eligible for both Netherlands and Nigeria in international football, he opted to represent the latter.

Club career

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. Troost-Ekong made 35 league appearances, and was booked 4 times, in his debut season in the Serie A, helping Udinese to a respectable 12th position.

International career

Troost-Ekong was born in the Netherlands with sister Emily Ekong and brother Everest Ekong to a Nigerian father, and Dutch mother Eleanore Troost. He represented the Netherlands at under-19 and under-20 youth levels.
He made his senior international debut for Nigeria on 13 June 2015, playing 90 minutes in an AFCON qualifier against Chad.
He made three starts for the senior team in 2016 before being selected by 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.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

NoDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.28 May 2018Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt, Nigeria1–01–1Friendly
2.10 July 2019Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt2–12–12019 Africa Cup of Nations