Watford summer arrival opens up on “tough” few months at Vicarage Road | OneFootball

Watford goalkeeper Maduka Okoye has admitted it has been tough for him at Vicarage Road since his arrival at the club.

Okoye signed for the Hornets back in January for a reported fee of £5.1 million, but was loaned back to the Eredivisie until the summer.

Upon his arrival in WD18, though, against what many expected, then Hornets boss Rob Edwards elected to go with Daniel Bachmann as his Championship number one goalkeeper, despite the club having forked out millions on Okoye just months earlier.

Since then, the 23-year-old shot stopper has been playing second, and sometimes even third fiddle to Bachmann, with Ben Hamer preferred on the bench often due to his homegrown status.

Indeed, Okoye has just one Watford appearance to his name so far, a second round EFL Cup defeat at the hands of League One MK Dons.

Now, speaking to Voetbal Primeur, as translated by SportWitness, Okoye has opened up on his time at Vicarage Road so far.

“I made the move to England in my right mind. I was told I had to compete with the other goalkeepers for a place under the crossbar,” Okoye explained in the interview.

“I was also told that I will be given the time and space to adapt to the level and to a new country and new league, so that I can eventually make the move.

“Sport-wise, it’s not yet panning out as I had hoped, but we stick to the plan.

“No, it’s definitely not easy. It’s quite tough, I have to tell you very honestly.

Quiz: Have any of these 25 ex-Watford players ever played for a Yorkshire based team?

1 of 25

RICHARLISON

YES NO

“At Sparta I played every week and now I’m on the bench, which was something I had to get used to. Then you come home with a different feeling than when you play every week, get balls out of the goal and get compliments. But that too is football and is just part of it.

“I am still one hundred per cent behind my transfer, because I did well in the Eredivisie and of course I couldn’t stay at Sparta forever.

“I just keep working really hard and want to show myself. We hope to get promoted to the Premier League with Watford. That’s going to be difficult, but we keep believing in it.”

The Verdict

You really do feel for Maduka Okoye.

When he signed for Watford, he thought he had got a Premier League move with the chance to compete for the number one spot.

Instead, due to homegrown rules, he often finds himself out of even the matchday squad at Vicarage Road down in the Championship.

In reading his words, you can hear he is determined to not give up on the move just yet though and that is credit to him.

What is also clear though is it has been a really difficult few months for the young man, adapting to life on the sidelines as opposed to in-between the sticks.