Super Eagles defender, William Troost-Ekong has completed his move from Udinese to Watford, joining the English Championship club for an undisclosed fee.
The 27-year-old returns to the country of his birth, having signed a five-year deal with Vladimir Ivic’s team.
Troost-Ekong’s switch to Vicarage Road has naturally attracted contrasting opinions from Nigerian football fans, with many arguing that moving from the Italian top flight to the second tier of English football represents a step down in his career. On face value, that is definitely the case.
He is departing a league that has Cristiano Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku, Duvan Zapata, Ciro Immobile, Victor Osimhen and Edin Dzeko to a competition where he only has to defend against forwards like Teemu Pukki, Josh King and Andre Ayew. That represents a big drop in quality, and will definitely slow down his development as a player.
However, for Troost-Ekong, there is a method to the madness. The defender sees the move as a means to an end, as it takes him closer to fulfilling his dream of competing in the English Premier League.
“I believe in the project for Watford to get back into the Premier League”, said Troost-Ekong, who will put on the No. 5 shirt for his new club.
“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 is right. Watford have one of the strongest squads in the Championship, and are highly fancied by many betting sites in Nigeria to gain promotion this season. They have made a decent start to the campaign, picking up seven points from their opening three matches. It might be worth having a punt on them to get straight back into the Premier League!
Even if Watford fail to gain promotion, there is still a very good chance that Troost-Ekong will be playing top-flight football in England next year. If he performs as well as he can for his new club, he will not be short of Premier League suitors next summer.
Another good thing about Troost-Ekong’s move to Watford is that it offers him the opportunity to take on a different challenge. He was starting to get a little stuck at Udinese. In his two seasons in Italy, Udinese finished 12th and 13th, and weren’t really going anywhere.
How does this move affect Troost-Ekong’s Super Eagles career?
Well, Troost-Ekong’s international career is not in any immediate danger. As long as he plays regularly for Watford, he will still get into Gernot Rohr’s squad. We have seen players like John Mikel Obi, Oghenekaro Etebo and Semi Ajayi play regularly for Nigeria while they were competing in the Championship.
Having said that, it is not a great look for the Eagles that one of the most important players in the team plays in the second tier of English football. Hopefully, he will not be in the lower division for too long.
There is a school of thought that believes that Troost-Ekong’s switch to Watford will toughen him up as a defender. The English Championship is nowhere near the Serie A in terms of quality, but it is arguably a more difficult league to play in.
The second tier comprises 24 teams, with each club required to play 46 matches per season, and possibly, promotion play-offs. Football betting fans know that it is one of the most unpredictable leagues in the world.
The championship is a grueling and bruising division that tests your strength, pace, stamina and general fitness.
If our player can improve in all these areas, then it would be great for the Super Eagles!
Leaving Udinese for Watford may seem bizarre on the surface, but as Troost-Ekong explains, it is a “tactical decision” that gets him closer to Premier League football.
If he guides Watford into the top flight this season, it will be seen as a brilliant decision!
