WHY I MOVED TO SAUDI ARABIA- SUPER EAGLES CAPTAIN, EKONG
William Troost-Ekong is expected to make his debut for newly-promoted Al-Khaloood against Al-Orobah on Sunday in the Saudi Pro League.
Super Eagles stand-in captain, has revealed the reasons behind his move to Saudi Arabia in the just-concluded transfer window.
Ekong teamed up with Saudi Arabia Professional Football League club, Al-Khaloood on a two-year deal to end his sojourn in Greece.
He only lasted one year with PAOK, winning the Greek Super League before seeking greener pastures in Saudi Arabia in August.
The 31-year-old admitted that securing his future was paramount in his decision to swap Europe for Saudi Arabia.
He said: “I got an offer I couldn’t turn down. I am 31, now I have to think about the big picture.
“I think the Saudi Premier League is competitive, you see the names that are playing there in my first game was against Benzema, Kante, Fabinho, players that are world level.
“But at the same time, everybody talks about the opportunity you have there to guarantee your future, to think about my family and kids.”
Troost-Ekong’s move to Al-Khaloood which was worth €1.2m was the second-highest transfer of his career
His most expensive transfer came in August 2018 when Serie A club Udinese paid €3.3m to secure his services from Turkish side Bursaspor.
Meanwhile, Ekong has revealed that the Super Eagles were unlucky in the 0-0 draw against Rwanda in the 2025 Nations Cup qualifiers clash in Kigali on Tuesday.
“‘I’m proud of the team, it’s always difficult to play away from home, not the best conditions, the pitch was not good enough.
”I think we put in a good performance, we created a lot of chances, we could have scored two, three, four goals. I think we have to look at that objectively and say it was a positive.
“Now we have four points from our first two games, I think we should be happy.”
Ekong has promised that the team will do better in their next game against Libya in October.
He said: “We continue, we said we want to qualify for the AFCON. We are on a course of doing that. Two positive results. For our next two games against Libya, we want to seal the deal.
Ekong is expected to make his debut for newly-promoted Al-Khaloood against Al-Orobah on Sunday in the Saudi Pro League.
