West Bromwich Albion could face an uphill battle to keep Josh Maja as two Spanish sides are rumoured to be pursuing a January deal.
The striker is currently second in the top scorer race in the second tier this season with nine goals in 15 games. At 25 years old, he has two years left on his contract at The Hawthorns after signing a new deal last year.
Baggies Set Demands
According to Spanish outlet Super Deporte, both Real Sociedad and Celta Vigo are keen on a January move for the Nigerian international following his stellar start to the season. The Galician club are currently in 11th place in La Liga but are in search of a standout striker to support current club captain Iago Aspas and potentially be his replacement as he nears the end of his career.
Sociedad meanwhile are in eighth place and are in the Europa League. He would have Mikel Oyarzabal as competition up front, but the Euros winner is also capable of playing on the wing.
The former Stoke City and Sunderland forward has previous experience on the continent after being sold to Bordeaux by The Black Cats. The later stages of his career in France saw him largely excluded from the side and loaned back to England.
West Brom signed him on a free transfer last August and will look to make a large profit should they sell, with Deporte suggesting Carlos Corberan’s side will only listen to offers of €20 million (£16.7 million) or more.
Writer’s View
Josh Maja is reaching a peak in his career with a sublime start to this season for West Brom. The question for The Baggies to ponder is whether they decide to cash in now or keep hold of him and hope he can guide them to the Premier League. A play-off position is firmly on the cards for the club so there is a chance they can get back to the top flight. However, if they fail in that task and keep Maja, he will be able to run down his contract and the club will have missed out on a major payday. Ultimately it depends on if Corberan can find a suitable replacement who can deliver like Maja has in January.
1st Class Honours in Multimedia Journalism at Salford University. Writing mainly about League Two.
