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Super Eagles goalkeeper, Maduka Okoye has joined Italian Serie A club Udinese on a four-year deal.
The Italian clubside, Udinese confirmed Okoye’s signing from Watford via an official statement on their website on Thursday.
According to the statement made available on their website, Okoye’s contract runs until 30 June 2027.
“As a goalkeeper with a real physical presence and impressive technique, Okoye already has international experience with Nigeria under his belt as well as playing time in the Championship and the Eredivisie,” the Serie A club wrote.
Okoye, 23, has found playing time difficult to come by in the past eighteen months in England and will hope his fortune change in Udine where his friend and international teammate William Troost-Ekong once played.
The Super Eagles star featured only twice for Watford last season, starting a match apiece in the Carabao Cup and Emirates FA Cup but was largely third choice to Daniel Bachmann and Ben Hamer.
Okoye was born in Dusseldorf, Germany into a Nigerian family on 28 August 1999, going on to join the Bayer Leverkusen youth ranks, where he stayed until he made the move to Fortuna Dusseldorf in 2017.
His debut season with the club saw him make 13 appearances for the under-19s and five for the second tier in the fourth tier of the German football pyramid.
The following year, he became a stable part of the second team, featuring in 15 matches and training with the first team on a regular basis.
In 2019/20, his 14 appearances for Fortuna’s second team earnt him a move to Eredivisie side Sparta Rotterdam, where he played 29 games in all competitions in 2020/21, before going up to 31 matches the following season.
Watford then swooped for the goalkeeper where he spent the 2022/23 campaign. Okoye has 16 senior Nigeria caps to his name, with his debut coming back in 2019 in a friendly against Brazil.
“The shotstopper is set to wear the number 40 jersey for Udinese. Welcome to the club, Maduka!,” Udinese wrote on its official website.
Watford also took to their website to confirm the permanent departure of Okoye to Udinese.
“The 23-year-old initially signed for the Hornets in January 2022 before joining up with the squad ahead of the 2022/23 season,” Watford wrote.
Okoye has 16 senior Nigeria caps to his name, with his debut coming back in 2019 in a friendly against Brazil and his last appearance against Tunisia in an Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) round of 16 match in Garoua last February.