William Troost-Ekong
Super Eagles’ Troost-Ekong lined up for Watford captain
Super Eagles stand-in captain, William Troost-Ekong may soon follow in the footsteps of the likes Austin ‘Jay-Jay’ Okocha and Joseph Yobo to captain their English Premier League (EPL) clubs, as his manager at Watford has now listed him among favourites to wear the armband at London-based side, Watford FC.
Watford manager Xisco Munoz has named the Nigerian defender Troost-Ekong among the four players in line to permanently take over from club legend, Troy Deeney as captain.
The 33-year old Deeney finally left the club for Birmingham City as a free agent this August, after over 11 years and more than 400 appearances for Watford, including twice leading the club to Premier League promotion.
So far this season, Tom Cleverley, goalkeeper Ben Foster, and fullback Craig Cathcart have taken turns to wear the captain’s armband, as the manager looks for a permanent player for the role.
Troost-Ekong who joined from Italian club, Udinese last year, has been thrown into the mix following the manager’s inclusion of the Nigeria international among four players he is considering for captain.
“I have Ben Foster, we have Tom Cleverley, Ekong, Cathcart. It’s the moment for the new young players to take one step forward. This is the situation. For me, we have a very good group of good players.
“Tom Cleverley always gives positive things, is always working very hard. Ben Foster, Ekong, Kabasele, I can say names like this.
“But the most important is we have inside of the dressing room good leaders, and this is the most important,” the manager had told the Watford Observer.
Since he arrived at Vicarage Road in September last year, Troost-Ekong has made 37 appearances for Watford, scoring once.
The 28-year-old defender is not a stranger to leading a team as he is the vice-captain of the Super Eagles, co-leading the former African champions to a third-place finish at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
While Okocha has captained Bolton Wanderers, Yobo was also captain of Everton, all EPL clubs.
