SUPER Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye has won Udinese’s Most Valuable Player award for February.
The Nigeria international was presented with the award before kick-off of yesterday’s Serie A home clash against Torino.
Okoye, who has not featured for the Super Eagles since the Africa Cup of Nations in 2022, has experienced a turnaround in fortunes at Udinese after starting there as the second choice goalkeeper.
The former Sparta Rotterdam goalkeeper has been in goal for Udinese in their last 12 Serie A matches, after starting his first season at the club as understudy to Italian Marco Silvestri.
Okoye, who joined the club last August, started and completed all four matches in the Italian top flight in February for Udinese, keeping two clean sheets, including in the 1-0 win over giants Juventus.
He had been an unused substitute in the first 16 matches of the Serie A campaign before making his league debut on December 30 in a 3-0 win over Bologna.
Unfortunately, Okoye could not prevent visitors Torino from beating Udinese 2-0 yesterday, although he pulled off some great saves, including against his compatriot David Okereke.
Okoye has now made himself available for Super Eagles selection after opting out following online abuse after the 1-0 defeat to Tunisia in the round of 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations in January 2022.
He was last in the Super Eagles squad as an unused substitute in October 2023 when they faced Mozambique in a friendly.
