William Ekong set to leave Watford for Salernitana on loan until the end of the season

ITALIAN Serie A side Salernitana is set to unveil Super Eagles centreback William Troost-Ekong as their latest signing after he reached a deal to join them on loan from English Premier League side Watford until the end of the season.

Ekong, 29, is currently out of favour at the Hornets and over the weekend he flew to Italy to seal a deal with Salernitana, who are in need of defensive reinforcements. It appears that the two sides have agreed on a loan move with an option to buy the defender at the end of the season.

Om Saturday, Ekong, who has two and half years left on his contract was an unused substitute during the 1-1 draw with Rotherham but went onto the pitch at full-time. After the game, he applauded the crowd and also appeared to be waving goodbye as he acknowledged the fans on all four sides of Vicarage Road.

Watford head coach Slaven Bilic, said: “There is something about it I heard it before the game. It is not just a rumour.”

With Ekong set to leave, Mr Bilic has already begin the search for a replacement and Watford are interested in signing Hibernian's Ryan Porteous and contact has been made regarding a signing. One source close to the Porteous, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, highlighted initial interest from Watford’s sister club Udinese but a move to the Championship side is now more likely.

Mr Bilic added: "Now if Troost-Ekong goes and with Christian Kabasele injured suddenly we are incredibly short, so we need that if we want to do what we want to do. We need to bring something, we need to."

Troost-Ekong has made 17 appearances for Watford this season, scoring one goal in the 4-0 victory over local rivals Luton Town in September. He joined Watford in 2020 after their previous relegation from the Premier League and was part of the squad that won automatic promotion.