Maduka Okoye, the Super Eagles’ goalkeeper, has joined Watford FC in the English Premier League, the club announced on Monday.
Okoye joined the English club from Sparta Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
He was signed to a five-and-a-half-year contract that will begin on January 1, 2022, when the transfer window opens.
Okoye, on the other hand, will be loaned back to Sparta Rotterdam until the end of the 2021/22 season.
The amount of the transfer fee was not disclosed.
“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,” the statement from Watford announcing the deal said.
“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.”
