West Brom suffer major blow in wake of Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea 'interest'

West Brom top scorer Josh Maja has suffered a lower leg injury and will miss several weeks of action as a result.

The Nigerian has started all 26 of Albion’s Championship matches so far this season but he won’t be available for the foreseeable future. West Brom have confirmed Maja will undergo surgery to correct his injury and he’ll then carry out a lengthy period of rehabilitation.

No exact prediction has been made for Maja’s return but Albion are hoping he’ll be “back in contention” at some stage in the spring.

The 26-year-old will be a huge miss as he’s 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 has begun to show signs of living up the potential he first displayed at Sunderland.

This news comes in the wake of speculation linking Maja with a move away from The Hawthorns, with Premier League clubs Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea both said to have expressed a strong interest and considering bids in the region of £15 million.

It was unlikely as it was that West Brom would have entertained Maja’s exit mid-season and now it’s even less probable given his injury blow.

Could Josh Maja make the step up to the Premier League?

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 with Albion 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.