{"id":742841,"date":"2023-07-04T20:44:44","date_gmt":"2023-07-04T17:44:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.paokfc.gr\/uncategorized-en\/20230704-paiktis-tou-paok-o-william-troost-ekong\/"},"modified":"2023-07-04T22:04:07","modified_gmt":"2023-07-04T19:04:07","slug":"20230704-paiktis-tou-paok-o-william-troost-ekong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paokfc.gr\/en\/news\/20230704-paiktis-tou-paok-o-william-troost-ekong\/","title":{"rendered":"William Troost-Ekong joins PAOK"},"content":{"rendered":"

Troost-Ekong<\/strong> was born on September 1, 1993 in Haarlem, the Netherlands<\/strong>, to a Nigerian<\/strong> father and a Dutch<\/strong> mother. He took his first footballing steps at Overbos<\/strong>, before moving to England<\/strong> to attend university. There he first joined the Fulham<\/strong> academy and then moved on to Tottenham<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In England<\/strong> he did not play at professional level, reaching Tottenham’s<\/strong> second string, and in the summer of 2013 he returned to his homeland on behalf of Groningen<\/strong>. He played in two competitive games and in the second half of the season he was loaned to Dordrecht<\/strong>, where he stayed for one-and-a-half seasons.<\/p>\n

He immediately became a star player there and contributed to gaining promotion to the top division, while he was also a key player in the Eredivisie<\/strong>, making a total of 34 appearances.<\/p>\n

Dordrecht<\/strong> were relegated and Troost-Ekong<\/strong> signed for Ghent<\/strong>, who loaned him to Norwegian<\/strong> side Haugesund<\/strong>. In Norway<\/strong> he played in 41 matches, scored four goals and provided two assists.<\/p>\n

In the 2016-17 season he returned to Ghent<\/strong> and played in eight games, before leaving for Turkey<\/strong> in the summer of 2017.<\/p>\n

Signing for Bursaspor,<\/strong> he had a busy season making 32 appearances and scoring three goals.<\/p>\n

His performances in Turkey<\/strong> paved the way for a move to Serie A. Udinese<\/strong> signed him up and Troost-Ekong<\/strong> responded brilliantly. In two seasons he made 66 appearances, being a key player.<\/p>\n

In September 2020, Watford<\/strong> gave him the opportunity to return to England<\/strong> and he grabbed it with both hands.<\/p>\n

He was pivotal in the team’s return to the Premier League<\/strong>, going on to play 17 games in the top flight, but Watford’s<\/strong> relegation and the many internal changes in the 2022-23 season saw him looking for a new adventure.<\/p>\n

Salernitana<\/strong> gave him the chance to compete in Serie A again and Troost-Ekong’s<\/strong> nine appearances and one goal helped them stay in the division.<\/p>\n

Troost-Ekong<\/strong> sought a new challenge this summer. PAOK<\/strong> convinced him, winning the competition for his signature and the Nigerian<\/strong> has now become a resident of Thessaloniki<\/strong> for the next three years.<\/p>\n

Welcome William!<\/strong><\/p>\n