Premier League 'giants' brace for West Brom transfer battle amid £15m striker bid claim
Chelsea and Tottenham have expressed a strong interest in a talented West Brom star
Championship promotion hopefuls West Brom Albion are expected to face a huge battle to retain the services of star striker Josh Maja this January.
The 26-year-old, who joined the Baggies last season on a free transfer from French second-tier side Bordeaux, is in sensational form with 12 goals and two assists from 26 appearances this season.
The Nigerian international is the second top scorer in the Championship and has been the standout performer at the Hawthorns this term, having scored double the figure of second-leading Baggies scorer Karlan Grant.
Maja is blessed with excellent speed, good movement in the final third and an ability to score all kinds of different goals. After an injury-hit debut season in the West Midlands, he is rapidly beginning to show signs of living up the potential he first showed at Sunderland and is attracting interest from a number of Premier League teams including Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, according to reports from Fichajes.
Chelsea are stacked with attacking talents with the likes of Nicholas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku and youngster Marc Guiu all fighting for a starting spot, while Tottenham already have Dominic Solanke, Heung Min Son, Richarlison and Timo Werner battling it out for a starting spot.
However, despite these wealth of options, both sides have expressed an interest in moving for Maja and are reportedly plotting a bid of around £15m to attempt to get the deal over the line.
Could Josh Maja make the step up to the Premier League?
Josh Maja has long been considered a top talent. As a teenager he was on the books at Premier League sides Crystal Palace, Fulham and even Manchester City before his breakthrough at Sunderland in 2016.
He was introduced sparingly as the Black Cats were relegated to League One in 2018 during a turbulent period for the Wearside club before establishing himself as one of the finest strikers in the third-tier with 15 goals in 24 games during the first half of the 2018/19 campaign.
Since then, Maja’s journey has been full of ups and downs, which have largely been caused by his injury record.
The Nigerian enjoyed a steady start to life at a cash-strapped Bordeaux team, riddled by financial difficulties, by scoring six in his first top-flight season but struggled to improve on that with just two goals in 17 games the following season before going out on loan to Fulham.
Maja joined a struggling Fulham side in a Premier League relegation battle and despite an early double against Everton, struggled to establish himself as a regular starter for the relegated side. A tricky loan period at Stoke City followed in the Championship before a return to Bordeaux where he showed himself to be a formidable force with 16 goals in 38 games in France’s second-tier.
His start at West Brom was plagued by injuries, but at 25-years of age, he is now showing signs that he is coming to the peak of his career. Maja is guaranteed regular football at West Brom and is likely to be a pivotal part of the new manager’s plans once the club find a replacement for Carlos Corberan.
The Baggies will undoubtedly be keen to keep Maja this month to keep their promotion hopes alive, but do face the prospect of making a tidy profit on a player with just 18 months remaining on his contract.