28 year old Austrian goalkepper Daniel Bachmann will begin the 2022/23 season as Watford’s first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Nigeria international goalkepper Maduka Okoye.
Okoye was largely expected to challenge for the number one spot and even started pre season as the first choice goalkepper ahead of Bachmann who joined the team form Stoke City in 2017.
He has since made 41 appearances and was first choice for large part of the second half of last season , before losing his place to Ben Foster after suffering a 0-3 loss at Norwich City. He didn’t keep goal again until the final game of last season against Chelsea.
The arrival of Okoye was expected to push him down the pecking order despite the departure of Foster but it has now been confirmed that he will be the first choice when the season gets underway next week.
“Dan will start the season in goal,” said head coach Rob Edwards. “I’ve had a chat about it with Madu (Okoye), who isn’t just a really good goalkeeper but also an unbelievable person.
“I think Dan deserved it after having a very good pre-season but I know that Madu is going to fight. He’s a top keeper and he is going to push Dan, and I’d also include Ben Hamer in that too. We have some very good players in that position.
“It’s probably the most difficult decision I’ve had to make so far as you can only have one goalkeeper on the pitch. You pick one and you know the others can’t play.
“But we’re blessed with very good goalkeepers and that can only be a good thing for us.”
