Report: West Brom battling PL club for £57k/wk English attacker, signed for £1.5m in 2019
West Brom have set their sights on Bordeaux striker Josh Maja, according to French newspaper L’Equipe.
It appears Albion’s striker pursuit has taken yet another turn, despite reports suggesting a deal for Mbaye Diagne is close.
Maja is also wanted by West Ham, whose interest in the 23-year-old has been widely reported this month.
The attacker’s £57,000-a-week contract has more than two years left to run, but Maja has found himself on the sidelines frequently since his 2019 move.
Not the short-term solution
It seems that the defeat to Manchester City has set alarm bells ringing amongst the recruitment team.
Hopefully, that does not lead to rash decision-making, as opting for Josh Maja would is not what we need right now.
The youngster showed he is an excellent talent while coming through at Sunderland in League One, but his development has stalled a little since.
There is simply no indication he would be able to cut it in the Premier League.
He has a total of nine Ligue 1 goals to his name but has struggled this term having started just 11 games.
As such, we would be concerned if this is the player Albion are hoping can fire us to Premier League safety.
Diagne may be a risk also, but he would at least provide experience and is in good form, and a striker of his pedigree could lift others in the squad.
If we do go down a player like Maja becomes a more exciting prospect, particularly because he cost Bordeaux just £1.5million in 2019.
At Sunderland, he displayed brilliant skill, scoring 15 goals in 24 games when he first became a regular starter in 2018/19.
To do so showed tremendous character, too, as he was performing in a side that had just experienced a painful relegation to League One.
In other West Brom news, ‘Been told’ – Big Sam set to offload WBA first-team player in desperate bid to free up funds.