'Very important to me there' - Fenerbahce striker reveals Troost-Ekong took him under his wing at Watford

Fenerbahce striker Tiago Çukur has revealed how Super Eagles central defender William Troost-Ekong took him under his wing during his time at Watford.

Çukur joined Watford in January 2021 and left the Hornets on a permanent basis in the summer of 2022 without making his senior debut for the club though he received two call-ups for Premier League games in the second half of the 2021-2022 season after returning from a loan spell at Doncaster Rovers. 

Troost-Ekong and Çukur were both born in the Netherlands but opted to play international football for Nigeria and Turkey respectively.

Çukur struggled to break into Watford's first team with the likes of Emmanuel Dennis, Joshua King, Ashley Fletcher, João Pedro and Cucho Hernández  ahead of him in the pecking order of forwards at Vicarage Road.

The 20-year-old has thanked Troost-Ekong and Troy Deeney for the role they played in helping him settle at Watford. 

"William Troost-Ekong and Troy Deeney were very important to me there," Çukur told Voetbal Primeur. 

"Those two really helped me in the dressing room, because it is of course a huge step. Unfortunately I was not able to make my debut there. I was on the bench.

"I had Joao Pedro - now a Brighton player - in front of me. His basic technique too, that was a really serious level."

 Troost-Ekong made 68 appearances during a three-year spell with the Hornets, scoring two goals.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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