The Sparta Rotterdam shot-stopper has shared his opinion on those he considers to be the safest pair of hands in the game
Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye is convinced that Barcelona’s number one Marc-André ter Stegen, Ajax goalie Andre Onana, and Chelsea’s new acquisition Edouard Mendy are among the best goalkeepers on the planet at the moment.
Okoye himself is gradually making a name for himself with Nigeria and Dutch club Sparta Rotterdam, but the youngster is in awe of the talents of those who are well advanced than him in honing their skills and perfecting their trade.
The Super Eagles gloveman has no doubts about who his idol was when growing up.
“(Brazil’s) Nélson Dida was my idol, for me, he was the greatest, I love his style, but nowadays it is Marc-André ter Stegen,” Okoye told Voetbal Rotterdam.
African goalkeepers are starting to earn the respect and admiration of European clubs, and Okoye believes Ajax Amsterdam’s Onana and Chelsea’s Mendy are currently the picks of the bunch.
“André Onana is also a great goalkeeper; I love to watch him. Definitely, he’s the best African goalkeeper at the moment.
“The second one is Mendy from Chelsea,” added Okoye.
Vincent Enyeama and Peter Rufai are widely regarded as two of Nigeria’s greatest goalkeepers in history.
But the former Lille shot-stopper edges the best gloveman debate for Okoye, who also admires the older Nigerian’s exploits in France’s Ligue 1.
“I have definitely watched more of Enyeama because he’s more of my generation. I go with Enyeama.
“For me, he is definitely the greatest Nigerian goalkeeper ever and also one of the best to play in the French League.
“Of course I know Peter Rufai but not as a person, I think he was the first Nigerian goalkeeper to play in the Netherlands with Go Ahead Eagles, but I know more of Enyeama.”
Okoye has recently convinced Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr that he is Nigeria’s number one goalkeeper at the moment, featuring in all of the team’s last four games.
A similar scenario is also playing out at his Eredivisie club, where the former Fortuna Dusseldorf starlet has managed to edge ahead of ex-PSV and Ajax trainee Benjamin van Leer as Sparta Rotterdam’s first-choice goalkeeper.
