Watford have signed goalkeeper Maduka Okoye from Eredivisie side Sparta Rotterdam for a fee understood to be in the region of €6 million (£5.1million).
Okoye, 22, has signed a five-and-a-half year contract with the Premier League club, which will begin on January 1, 2022.
He will remain on loan at Sparta Rotterdam for the rest of the 2021-22 season.
A Nigeria international with 13 caps to his name, Okoye has played in every one of Sparta’s 12 Eredivisie matches this season, conceding 19 goals.
Okoye began his career in Germany, enjoying a spell at Bayer Leverkusen before turning professional with Fortuna Dusseldorf in 2017.
Watford said in a statement: “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.”
What role is he likely to play at Watford?
With 38-year-old Ben Foster’s contract set to expire in the summer, Okoye is expected to come in as a challenger for the Watford number one shirt.
That will place him in direct competition with Austria international Daniel Bachmann.
But Bachmann’s future is uncertain, with the 27-year-old failing to hold down the number one shirt this season.
This means Okoye has a chance to hit the ground running and win a place in the starting XI when he moves from Sparta next summer.
Watford also have 35-year-old Rob Elliot to call upon, as well as Pontus Dahlberg on loan at Doncaster.
How has he performed on the international stage?
Okoye kept a clean sheet on his international debut after coming on as a 63rd minute substitute in a 1-1 friendly against Brazil in October 2019.
Since then, he has made 12 other appearances for his country, three of which have been World Cup qualifiers.
He kept two clean sheets against Liberia and Central African Republic helping his team to two 2-0 victories and only conceded one against Cape Verde Islands in a 2-1 win.
Which other clubs had an interest in Okoye?
Okoye’s name has repeatedly cropped up in gossip columns across Europe and was linked to Ligue 1 side OGC Nice earlier this season.
The 22-year-old impressed after breaking into Sparta’s starting XI last season and signed a new contract with the club in the summer.
The club’s technical director Henk van Stee suggested that the new deal was an effort to fend off transfer interest in Okoye.
“Last season he proved us right. With 10 clean sheets in 28 games, he contributed to the club’s eighth-place finish and was even voted player of the season by the supporters,” Van Stee said, as per Goal.
“He made great strides last season, he is also the first goalkeeper of the Nigerian national team. Obviously, this meant there was a lot of interest in him, but we both had the intention to continue longer and are very happy that we are extending his contract.”
(Photo: Herman Dingler/Orange Pictures)