By January 2022, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Super Eagles contingents in Watford will increase by one as the London club look to remain in the Premier League.
The English Premier League side took to his Twitter page to announce that it has reached an agreement with Sparta Rotterdam for the transfer of Super Eagles first-choice goalkeeper, Maduka Okoye.
According to the club statement, Maduka Okoye will be signed in January 2022 but will return on loan to Sparta Rotterdam for the rest of the 2021/2022 season.
Maduka Okoye will join the likes of Oghenekaro Etebo, Emmanuel Dennis, and Williams Troost-Ekong at Vicarage Road next summer.
Club Statement
Watford FC is pleased to announce that it has reached agreement to sign highly-rated young goalkeeper Maduka Okoye, on a five-and-a-half year deal that will begin on January 1, 2022.
The Nigeria international joins the Hornets for an undisclosed fee from Eredivisie outfit Sparta Rotterdam, to where he will return on loan until the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
A regular starter for the Dutch club, Okoye has lined up between the sticks in each of their games so far this season, while he has made 13 appearances for his country since debuting in a 1-1 draw with Brazil in 2019.
Born in Germany to a Nigerian father and German mother, the 22-year-old played in the youth ranks at Borussia Mönchengladbach, Bayer Leverkusen and Fortuna Düsseldorf before moving to Sparta Rotterdam in the summer of 2020. He won Sparta’s Player of the Season award last term for a string of stellar performances, helping his side claim an eighth-place finish in the league.
The 6ft 6in shot-stopper’s consistent displays for both club and country have seen him linked with some of Europe’s biggest clubs, but he has now put pen to paper on a long-term deal with the Golden Boys.
Welcome to Watford, Maduka!