Watford of England defender, William Troost-Ekong is taking stock of what he tagged a thorny career trajectory he has gone through and gave thanks to God for leading him where he is at present, megasportsarena.com reports.
The Super Eagles’ assistant captain, who was born in Netherlands to a Nigerian father and tried fruitlessly to get his breakthrough in the country of his birth, recounted how he was labeled not good enough at the outset.
He has now cast a look back at his progression through various countries and a total of seven different clubs, starting in the youth academy of Tottenham Hotspur of England, where he was released unceremoniously.
However, rather than slam Spurs’ egg heads for declaring him not good enough, Troost-Ekong says he is glad to have achieved his ambitions of featuring in the English Premier League several years after he was thrown out by The Lilywhites
That came after he equally left Fulham under a storm in 2010, following which he has starred for FC Groningen and Dordrecht of Netherlands, Haugesund of Norway, KAA Gent of Belgium, Bursaspor of Turkey and Udinese of Italy, then got his bow in the EPL with Watford.
He started with The Hornets on a glorious note, as they won 3-2 against Aston Villa on August 14, but he still recalls how he left Spurs after failing to make the club’s first team, which ignited his move to Groningen in search of regular action.
After spells at Gent, Bursaspor and Udinese, Troost-Ekong completed a permanent switch to Watford, with which he signed a five-year contract, and he has now admitted that the transfer was in fulfillment of his ambition of featuring in the English elite division.
Troost-Ekong told BBC Sport Africa: “I believe in the project for Watford to get back into the Premier League.
“It’s always been my dream to play in the Premier League and Watford has given me the platform now to get there.
“I’ve always made tactical decisions for my career and this felt like the right step now for me and my family.
“Looking at the squad, I believe we have the quality to do it. As for my international future, I have shown what I can add to the Super Eagles.
“I have consistently contributed to the team’s success in the last five years and have had the pleasure of captaining the team.”
