Watford have signed goalkeeper Maduka Okoye from Eredivisie side Sparta Rotterdam for a fee understood to be in the region of €6 million

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.