Mowbray shares what he saw Maja do for first time at West Brom training
Tony Mowbray has plenty of attacking talent in his West Brom squad, as he attempts to figure out how best to harness the firepower at his disposal with four Championship fixtures remaining.
With a focus on attack in the mid-season transfer window, the likes of Adam Armstrong, Will Lankshear and Tammer Bany all arrived at The Hawthorns but with no prolific impact.
It was the established Albion players Tom Fellows, Karlan Grant and Mikey Johnston at the heart of the crucial win over Watford last weekend (12 April), which keeps Mowbray’s side in with a shout for the top six.
West Brom take on their most pivotal fixture yet when they make the short trip to Coventry City on Good Friday (18 April), able to leapfrog Frank Lampard’s hosts with a win at the CBS Arena. Lose, and it’s a six-point gap with three to play.
Mowbray shares Josh Maja latest
For all the attacking talent Mowbray has available, West Brom have sorely missed 12-goal striker Maja, who has not played since early January with a calf problem.
Maja looked to have turned a corner from his injury-ravaged maiden season as a Baggies player, his two ankle injuries setting him back to the point he could not even muster a play-off appearance against Southampton.
This time, however, Mowbray is hoping to have him available for at least the end of the run-in and revealed the striker has stepped up the physical work, before a hopeful return to full training.
The manager told the Express & Star (17 April): “I was coming off the training pitch on Tuesday and walking past the pitch at the front and he’s on the grass with his boots on running, doing fitness work.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen him on the grass with his boots on. I’m not sure how long the medical team wants to see him twist, turn and jump and stuff like that, dynamic stuff.
“He’s getting closer, but obviously the season is three weeks or potentially five weeks away from the end, so if he’s going to be back he’s got to start to join in well some time soon.”
Maja has spent almost four months on the sidelines, last appearing on 4 January against Swansea City having hit a match-winning brace on New Year’s Day against Preston North End.
West Brom wonder what might have been with Maja
West Brom are desperate for Maja to return and make the kind of significant short-term impact they know he can.
The Nigerian international had struck 12 times at the midway point of the season, a tally bettered even at this rate of the campaign by just five more goals from Norwich City’s Borja Sainz.
| West Brom – top goalscorers 2024-25 | Goals |
| Josh Maja | 12 |
| Alex Mowatt | 7 |
| Karlan Grant | 7 |
| Jayson Molumby | 4 |
| Grady Diangana | 4 |
It’s inevitable that Baggies fans and Mowbray alike will be wondering where they could have been with a fully-fit Maja, who had taken this season by the scruff of the neck from its very first day when he netted a hat-trick at QPR (10 August).
Mowbray undoubtedly does have options and enough firepower to cause the final four opponents problems, as a much clearer outlook will beckon on the Championship table by the end of the Easter weekend.