Carlos Corberan drops ‘special’ verdict on West Brom ace Josh Maja
West Brom manager Carlos Corberan has admitted he is excited to have “special” striker Josh Maja available to him once again following an injury-ravaged season.
Corberan played a big part in luring Maja to the club after he scored 16 Ligue 2 goals for Bordeaux last season, making him the only permanent signing of the summer transfer window
Maja suffered ankle ligament damage in the 2-1 defeat to Sunderland on 9 December but has made substitute appearances off the bench against Rotherham United and Leicester City this month.
Baggies boss Corberan spoke glowingly about the 25-year-old this week, revealing his excitement in being able to call on the Nigerian attacker for the remainder of the season.
“I think he’s a player that made us feel excited when we brought him to the club, because for me he was a talent in England in his previous clubs with Sunderland, and Fulham in the Premier League,” Corberan said in quotes reported by the Birmingham Mail (24 April).
“After he found difficulty and moved to France to play there and challenge himself, because of the different language, he used the opportunity very well to grow as a player.
“He comes back here with a desire to put all of his football and all his improvement in England again, so it made me feel excited in the summer with his quality, desire and maturity, but unfortunately the injuries stopped his progress or immediate impact.
“It doesn’t mean it has decreased our level of belief in him, because I think he’s a special player that with our position and possibilities last summer we understood he was the best player we could achieve.
“That’s why he’s here. He is a player we are of course looking forward to seeing more, to work more time and seeing him more in games.”
Josh Maja’s return will feel like a new signing for West Brom
Ankle issues have been hugely disruptive for Maja, as his most recent injury saw him miss almost five months of action after picking up the problem against former club Sunderland.
However, he returned to play the final 10 minutes against Rotherham on April 10, before making his first start of 2024 for the Under-21 side against Manchester City a couple of days later.
Maja was a late sub again against Leicester City at the weekend (April 20) and now looks set to play a bigger role in the Baggies’ final two games of the season ahead of their expected playoffs involvement.
West Brom need another three points before they can breathe easy and look forward to the playoffs, with a trip to relegation-threatened Sheffield Wednesday coming up next on Saturday (27 April).
That killer instinct in front of goal was sorely lacking in their 2-1 defeat at Leicester, though, as Corberan’s men squandered many first-half chances that could have given them an early lead at the King Power Stadium.
Therefore, Maja’s reintroduction to the side could be important and, if Corberan can get him more regularly on the pitch for the potential five games left in West Brom’s season, he could play a starring role in firing them to the Premier League, if he can find some goalscoring form.
In other West Brom news, their playoff chances have been calculated by a supercomputer ahead of the penultimate weekend of the season.
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