Why West Ham should reignite their interest in Josh Maja
Towards the end of July, a report from Sky Sports had claimed that West Ham were interested in signing Nigerian international striker Josh Maja from Bordeaux. The 21-year-old had also been linked with Scottish giants Rangers but he eventually ended up staying put in the French top-flight.
West Ham endured a lacklustre summer window, failing to get deals over the line for any of their top targets. The Hammers roped in right-back Vladimir Coufal from Slavia Prague before the international deadline before negotiating a loan deal with Watford to bring Craig Dawson to East London. However, there were no fresh additions to the team’s forward line.
Profile
Josh Maja spent time in the youth ranks of Crystal Palace, Fulham, and Manchester City before completing his development at Sunderland. He made his professional debut for the Black Cats in an EFL Cup tie against QPR during the 2016-17 season before making his league bow for Sunderland in the Championship in the following campaign.
Maja scored 15 goals in 24 appearances in League One for Sunderland during the first half of the 2018-19 season, with his prolific form paving the way for a move to Bordeaux in January 2019. The 21-year-old found the net once in 7 Ligue 1 outings during the latter half of the campaign before establishing himself in a more prominent role last term.
The Nigerian managed 6 goals and 2 assists in 21 league appearances, including just 6 starts in the Covid-curtailed 2019-20 season. Maja has hit the ground running once again this term, scoring twice in 8 Ligue 1 outings for Bordeaux so far. The youngster has struck 11 goals in 39 appearances for Bordeaux in all competitions.
West Ham would benefit from Maja’s potential
Michail Antonio topped the scoring charts at the London Stadium with 10 goals in just 24 league appearances last season. The 30-year-old has picked up from where he signed off in the previous campaign, finding the net thrice in 6 league outings so far.
The former Nottingham Forest man has been ably supported by Jarrod Bowen up top but there remains a big question mark over the credentials of Sebastien Haller. The Frenchman has slipped down the pecking order under David Moyes after managing just 7 goals in the PL last season.
Haller has found his involvement restricted to just one league start so far this season, which clearly indicates that the manager doesn’t have a lot of confidence in his abilities. West Ham should, therefore, look to make a decision on his future as relegating him to bench duty over a prolonged period will only decrease his market value.
Suffice to say, the Hammers need a young and hungry centre-forward to compete with Antonio for the No.9 role and Josh Maja ticks the box in that regard. The Nigerian has always been regarded as a player with potential ever since his days in Sunderland’s academy. West Ham should definitely look to go back in the market for his services in January.
The 21-year-old proved himself to be a cut above the rest in the English third-tier a couple of seasons back and has progressed by leaps and bounds since moving to France. Regular game time at Bordeaux has allowed Maja to make a real impression and West Ham should look to phase him into the mix should a move materialise in the near future.
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Verdict
Josh Maja has already started to deliver on his potential at Bordeaux and still has his best years ahead of him at 21. West Ham ideally need an up and coming striker to compete with Antonio and eventually take over the goalscoring duties from him in the next two or three years.
With Haller failing to live up to the expectations, it should be an absolute no-brainer for the Hammers to reignite their interest in the Nigerian international.
