Maduka Okoye remains loyal to Sparta Rotterdam. The 21-year-old goalkeeper is signing a new contract for four seasons, the club announced on Wednesday afternoon. Okoye is therefore fixed until the summer of 2025. He was in the picture at AZ to succeed Marco Bizot who left for Stade Brest, but the Alkmaarders seem to have to look further. Okoye came over from Fortuna Düsseldorf transfer-free last year and left a good impression in the Eredivisie.
Sparta had a unilateral option to extend Okoye’s contract for two seasons, but will not disclose whether this has been used. “A year ago we hired Maduka because we thought he was a great talent,” says technical director Henk van Stee. “Last season he proved us right in this regard. 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. He is also the first goalkeeper of the Nigerian national team. Obviously this meant that 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.”
Happy with my new Contract! ???? pic.twitter.com/SqBkuroWD7
— Maduka Okoye (@OkoyeMaduka) August 4, 2021
The goalkeeper himself is looking forward to his second season at Het Kasteel. “When I signed with Sparta, I did that with clear goals. I wanted to develop further and become the first keeper in the Eredivisie and for the super Eagles“, he refers to the Nigerian team. “So after the first season I can’t help but be satisfied, but I’m certainly not done here yet. I really enjoy my time at Sparta and I feel appreciated by my teammates and the supporters. In my first year I have already experienced many beautiful moments here, I hope that next season, at a full Castle, we will add even more moments.”
Okoye, 21, was passed only 35 times in 28 games last season and, as Van Stee indicates, kept 10 clears. He was thus partly responsible for reaching the play-offs, in which ultimately no European ticket could be enforced. Robert Maaskant called the 1 meter 97 long goalkeeper at RTV Rijnmond an ‘insane athlete’, while Kees Kwakman even put him at the top of his top three revelations in the Eredivisie at ESPN.