Having dropped from the pecking order at Vicarage Road, solace may have come the way of the Super Eagles defender, William Troos-Ekong after Serie A strugglers, Bologna muted the idea of bringing the 28-year-old defender to help salvage their leaking defence which is yet to keep a clean sheet so far this season
Having barely featured for Watford since returning from the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations early this year, Super Eagles Vice Captain, William Troost-Ekong may be making a return to Serie A where he had once played for Udinese as Bologna side are courting the 28-year-old to bolster their leaking defence which is yet to keep a clean sheet in the four-week-old Italian league.
Bologna are considering a move for Troost-Ekong with the Nigerian dropping down in the pecking order at Vicarage Road and the Red and Blues see the 28-year-old as a good option to bolster their defence after Olympique Marseille’s Leonardo Balerdi rejected their offer.
The defender who missed 23 games last season as the Hornets suffered relegation from the English topflight, has only made two appearances this term in the English Championship.
“Bologna are keen to reinforce their defence and are evaluating making a move for Troost-Ekong,” Sky Italia reports.
“The defender currently at Watford knows the Italian league well from having played in Serie A with Udinese. Balerdi on the other hand, has decided to reject the Rossoblu’s proposal to stay at Marseille.”
Turkish Super Lig champions Trabzonspor are still working to sign Troost-Ekong on a season-long loan with an option to buy from Watford.
Trabzonspor had earlier made an offer for the Nigerian but it was turned down by Watford.
The Nigerian had previously spent a season in Turkey with Bursaspor, where he made 32 appearances for the Turkish side, scoring three goals.
Meanwhile, Watford coach Rob Edwards has made it clear that should any player leave the club before the window is shut there is room for replacement.
“I’d still like to bring in someone that can play up top before the window shuts,” Edwards told Watford Observer. “We are looking at it, but it’s not a guarantee.”
Troost-Ekong received harsh words from Edwards after his team crashed out of the Carabao Cup following a 2-0 loss to League One side MK Dons on Tuesday night.
Ekong who was handed his first start of the season at the heart of Watford defence was blamed along with his partner, Edo Kayembe, for the goal which broke the deadlock in the 45th minute.
An error between the duo allowed Will Grigg near the touch line to latch onto the ball and pass to Louise Barry who slide it into the net for the opening goal.
Speaking at the post match, Watford Coach, Edwards, singled out Ekong and Kayembe as responsible for that goal. Another sloppy defending between the duo also resulted in the second goal that sealed Watford’s exit from the Carabao Cup.
“There were some individual errors, and errors that we then couldn’t recover from. Sometimes when you make a mistake then you want your mate to be able to help you out. We couldn’t do that so we got punished.
“You don’t expect that kind of basic error. When they happen you hope you can recover from them, but we didn’t,”owngoal.com quoted the coach whose team got knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Dons currently sitting 22nd spot in League One.
Sadly, Ekong’s errors ruined Maduka Okoye’s first official game for Watford.
Troost-Ekong helped Watford to securing Premier League promotion before they got relegated the following season.
Playing in the top English football league was 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 28-year-old centre-back in 2021 achieved his dream of playing in Europe’s most glamorous league.
The 27-year-old centre-back began his career with Groningen.
He joined Udinese in 2018 and move to Watford in what was a series of summer deals between the two clubs.
“I believe in the project for Watford to get back into the Premier League,” he had 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.
