Udinese has confirmed the signing of Super Eagles of Nigeria goalkeeper Maduka Okoye from Watford FC on a contract that will last until June 30, 2027.
On Thursday, the club announced the signing of Okoye, praising him as a goalkeeper with tremendous physical presence and outstanding technique.
Okoye was born on August 28, 1999, in Dusseldorf, Germany, to a Nigerian family. He joined the Bayer Leverkusen youth division before moving to Fortuna Düsseldorf in 2017.
In his first season with the club, he appeared 13 times for the under-19s and five times for the second tier of the German football pyramid.
The next year, he established himself as a regular member of the second squad, appearing in 15 matches and often working with the first team.
His 14 appearances for Fortuna’s second team in 2019/20 earned him a transfer to Eredivisie club Sparta Rotterdam, where he played 29 games in all competitions in 2020/21 before increasing to 31 the next season.
Watford subsequently raced in for the goal keeper, signing him for the 2022–23 season.
Okoye has 16 senior Nigerian caps to his name, having made his debut in a friendly against Brazil in 2019.
The club has declared that the custodian will wear the number 40 shirt for Udinese.
