August 24, (THEWILL) – Italian Serie A side Udinese have announced the signing of Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye from Watford.
The 23-year-old shot-stopper has signed a four-year contract with the Friulian club that will see him remain at the Dacia Arena until June 2027. He departed Watford due to a lack of playing time, making just two appearances out of a possible 49 during the 2022/2023 season. He initially joined the Hornets in January 2022 but was immediately loaned back to Dutch club Sparta Rotterdam.
However, upon returning to Watford last summer, first-team minutes proved hard to come by. The German-born Nigerian international spent time in the Youth Academies of DJK SC Flingern 08, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Bayer Leverkusen and Fortuna Dusseldorf before transferring to Sparta Rotterdam in 2019. During his time with the Eredivisie side, Okoye made 61 appearances, conceding 78 goals and keeping 18 clean sheets.
Despite 16 caps for Nigeria, Okoye has not represented the Super Eagles since January 2022, largely due to his lack of club football. For the remainder of the 2023/2024 season, he will wear the number 40 shirt at Udinese.
Okoye links up with fellow Nigerians Isaac Success and Samuel Nwachukwu on Udinese’s books. The club will hope his arrival provides competition for first-choice goalkeeper Marco Silvestri.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
