Udinese goalkeeping coach Alex Brunner acknowledges the quality of Maduka Okoye and is tipping the Nigerian goalkeeper to reach higher heights in his career, SportPremi reports.
Okoye has been in great form for the Italian club since making his return from a betting suspension earlier in the season.
The Super Eagles shot-stopper was suspended for two months following match-fixing allegations and missed Udinese’s first six league matches of the season.
The 26-year-old has missed only two matches since his return to action, one through suspension, while he was benched for the other match.
He was a surprise exclusion from Nigeria’s final squad for the 2025 African Cup of Nations tournament in Morocco, despite being included in the initial preliminary squad.
Check what Alex Brunner said about Maduka Okoye
Alex Brunner, who returned to Udinese for a second spell late last year, has hailed the quality of the Super Eagles goalie, but wants him to carry his training performances into the competitive matches.
“Udinese’s starting goalkeeper has always been him, because we see Maduka as a talent and we know that we have to work to make him find the continuity of performance that at the moment is not of a high level”, Brunner revealed.
“The things he does in training are like a top club, we have a duty to insist on working to try to find the key that allows him to find continuity. In my 11 years of Udinese, the talent I saw in Okoye.
I find it hard to find in other goalkeepers and I was lucky enough to coach some really good ones. It’s the truth. If one comes to see the training sessions, Maduka does some surprising things. Then he lacks the continuity of performance and we have to find a way to improve that”, the Italian added.
“Certainly the vicissitudes off the field didn’t help him. This doesn’t have to be an alibi, but it’s not automatic. It takes time but it’s an impressive physical talent. He has everything to become a great goalkeeper. Sometimes with the force he has in his legs he covers the door more than he should.
For a goalkeeper of one meter and 96 centimeters it is not usual to have these physical qualities, he is very fast even in low saves. Let’s say that nature has been generous with him. In Italy then when you make a mistake the criticism is fierce, he suffers internally without ever manifesting it.”
Brunner also admitted that Okoye was benched for the 1-0 defeat to Como earlier in the month as a punishment for his costly red card during the defeat to Fiorentina in December.
“The reasoning was to put some internal pressure on him to make him understand that not everything is due but he must win it over. The message was that, Daniele did very well but we have the duty to develop Okoye who is a goalkeeper we all believe in”, he concluded.
Udinese return to action next Monday when they welcome AS Roma to the Bluenergy Stadium, hoping to improve on their mid-table position on the standings.
