Nigerian goalkeeper, Okoye, signs long term contract with Watford

Nigerian German-born goalkeeper, Maduka Okoye, has signed a long-term contract with an English premier league team, Watford FC. Management of the club confirmed the contract on Monday.

Okoye was signed by the English club from a Dutch club, Sparta Rotterdam.

The Super Eagles goalkeeper signed five and  a half years contract with Watford, scheduled to commence at the opening of the transfer window on January 1, 2022.

The club disclosed that Okoye will be loaned back to Sparta Rotterdam till the end of the 2021/22 season.

The statement of Watford on the new signing read: “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.”