Welcome to the SCL, Udoka Godwin-Malife!
Reading have brought in the 26-year-old defender from fellow League One club Burton Albion on a permanent deal.
Better known by fans of his former clubs as ‘Dokes’, the now-former Brewers captain is a mobile, physical, right-sided defender in the prime of his career.
He’s the Royals’ second addition of the summer, following Kyreece Lisbie, who was bought from Colchester United. Going in the other direction, Matt Ritchie and Derrick Williams have both retired.
Unlike Lisbie, Godwin-Malife hadn’t been linked with joining Reading for a long time. Although it was reported on June 25 that a second signing of the summer was close, the name didn’t come out publicly until June 27. A medical was done on June 29, according to Pete O’Rourke, ahead of the deal being finalised on June 30.
What’s his story so far?
Godwin-Malife’s gradually moved up through the leagues, starting out in the sixth tier before eventually properly establishing himself in the third.
He began his professional career at Oxford City, where he played 24 times in National League South in 2018/19. That earned him a January 2019 switch to League Two Forest Green Rovers. He wasn’t initially a regular there, and at one point went out on loan briefly to Eastleigh in the National League.
The 2020/21 season is when he really kicked on though. Godwin-Malife played 44 times in League Two as FGR reached the playoffs, then 26 times when FGR went one better by winning the fourth tier outright. The following season was a poor one for FGR though, who finished bottom of League One, with Godwin-Malife playing 25 times.
League Two side Swindon Town then swooped for Godwin-Malife, buying him from FGR in the summer of 2023. Although that season wasn’t a great one for The Robins, who finished 19th, it was a great one for Godwin-Malife personally, being voted players’ player of the season.
And that proved to be his only season back in the fourth tier, with Burton Albion splashing out to secure his services in the summer of 2024. He’s since been a regular in The Brewers’ defence, playing 42 and then 38 times in the league, even being named club captain in time for the 2025/26 season.
What kind of player is he?
A durable one for starters, which is surely a big reason for Reading bringing him in. As mentioned above, Godwin-Malife has shown he’s capable of playing around 40 times in the league per season, doing so four times in his last six seasons. The importance of that shouldn’t be overlooked when you consider the Royals’ prior struggles with fitness.
Brewers fan David Wilson-Turner describes Godwin-Malife as a “strong, quick and physical” defender who’s a “tremendous athlete”. Leam Richardson has spoken about his desire to bring in more players of that profile, and we also saw that in the addition of the highly mobile and energetic Lisbie.
In possession, Godwin-Malife doesn’t appear to stand out as a passer, but he is an excellent ball carrier. EFL Analytics pointed out last summer that Godwin-Malife’s number of ‘accelerated dribbles per 90’ compare favourably to those of Amadou Mbengue, so expect to see the former Burton man confidently driving forward with the ball at his feet.
Tactically speaking Godwin-Malife is a right-sided defender, capable of playing at centre-back, right-back or right-wing-back. That versatility will also be very useful for the Royals, with Richardson playing a back three and a back four in his time as Reading boss so far.
Going by Richardson’s favoured system though – a 4-2-3-1 that becomes a 3-2-4-1 in possession, with one of the full-backs pushing on and the other sitting in – you’d think Godwin-Malife would play as a defensively minded right-back.
That’d leave Reading with a back three in possession of, say, Godwin-Malife, Paudie O’Connor and Benn Ward – a nice mix of mobility, aerial power and technical ability. There’s also in theory a few ways of that back three progressing the play: long balls from O’Connor, driving runs from Godwin-Malife or snappier passes from Ward.
So, all in all, this looks like a logical, clever signing in an important position. You’d think though that Reading will want further additions at the back to really bulk out this department.
