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Nigeria goalkeeper Maduka Okoye eyeing Watford exit

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Maduka Okoye

By Monsurah Olatunji

Nigeria international Maduka Okoye says he is not ruling out a possible move from Vicarage Road Stadium when the January transfer window opens.
The out-of-favour Super Eagles’ safe hands joined the Hornets in a big-money move for a reported £5.1 million from Sparta Rotterdam in 2022 after a successful outing in the Dutch Eredivisie.
The 23-year-old made 14 Eredivisie appearances for Sparta and kept six clean sheets before his move to Watford and was immediately loaned back to the Dutch outfit after signing a five-and-a-half-year deal last season.
However, Watford recalled the Super Eagle from his loan spell but he has since struggled to nail down a starting role for the Championship side.
The Nigerian has made two appearances for the club so far, with both coming in the Cup competitions and has spent recent months as third-choice, with Ben Hamer being named on the bench as back-up to Daniel Bachmann.
“We’ll see what happens. My contract runs until 2027, so anything is possible. Maybe I will be loaned out, or not, I don’t know yet. The Eredivisie? Yes, that sounds like something to me,” Okoye told Voetbal Primeur.
“The clubs in the Netherlands know me well from Sparta and know what they can do with me. We’ll see. For now, I’m just focusing completely on Watford and the games we’re going to play.
“Every goalkeeper who goes from the Netherlands to England has some starting problems. I was also told I will have the time and space to adapt to the level and a new country and new competition so that I can eventually make the move. Some things are different in England than in the Netherlands, just take the physical difference.
“Sports-wise it hasn’t worked out as I had hoped, but we’re sticking to the plan. No, it’s certainly not easy. It’s quite tough, I have to tell you very honestly. At Sparta, I played every week and now I’m on the couch, that was something I had to get used to.
“I am still 100 percent behind my transfer because I did well in the Eredivisie and of course could not stay with Sparta forever. I just keep working hard and want to show myself.”

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