Josh Maja: Takes Redemption to The Potters

With just 45 minutes of football across four appearances, Josh Maja’s time during his return to Bordeaux after a loan spell at Fulham was everything but a success. After moves from Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Serie A club Venezia and Alaves of La Liga as well as two MLS clubs, Super Eagles striker all fell through. Championship side, Stoke City won over the Nigerian just six months after leaving England for France

Josh Maja’s departure from Wearside mid-way through Sunderland’s first season in the third tier was a controversial episode with the player and his agent often portrayed as the villain.
But it hasn’t worked out for the striker in France though there were some flashes of quality during the loan move to Fulham.

Having scored 11 goals in 48 games for Bordeaux after joining from Sunderland in January 2019, Maja spent the second half of last season on loan with Fulham, where he was unable to prevent them suffering relegation from the Premier League.

Maja then returned to France in the summer, but struggles for fitness and game time saw him feature on just four more occasions for Bordeaux, all of which were late appearances from the bench.
As a result, Maja secured a return to England in the final hours of the January transfer window, completing a move to Stoke on a loan deal until the end of the season.

Nottingham Forest were said to have agreed a deal to pay Bordeaux a fee of €4.5m for Maja last summer but the move fell through due to an issue with Maja’s medical.
Maja took to Twitter to reveal his satisfaction at joining Stoke City on loan from Bordeaux for the rest of the season.

Maja wrote: “Delighted to be a part of @stokecity for the rest of the season. Let’s work.”
Stoke are currently 12th in the Championship table, six points off the play-offs, and are next in action when they host Wigan in the FA Cup today, a game in which Maja could make his debut.
The 23-year-old Super Eagles player signed for the Potters on loan from the French side but with an option to make deal permanent in the summer after Stoke City completed the signing of the striker on deadline day from French Ligue 1 club Bordeaux.

The EFL Championship side has revealed the arrival of the 23-year-old Nigerian player on a loan deal and he will spend the remainder of the season at the bet365 Stadium, after receiving his international clearance.

Maja becomes the fifth signing for the Potters after Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Phil Jagielka, Lewis Baker, and Jaden Philogene-Bidace.

Revealing why he signed Maja, Stoke coach Michael O’Neill said: “Josh will bring a different dimension to our attacking options and I’m really pleased that we’ve held off competition from a number of other clubs to secure him,” O’Neill told the club’s official website.

Meanwhile, Maja, who has an option to make the transfer permanent in the summer, has explained why he decided to sign for the Potters.

“It was the ambition and admiration that the coaching staff have for me here,” Maja said. “They showed a big interest in me and did a very good job convincing me to take the opportunity to come here.

“Also, the long-term mindset. Obviously, it’s a loan deal with an option so if all things go well, I could be here longer than this season, so we will see how it goes, but I’m excited.

“It didn’t really take too much selling, it was more that the staff had a lot of admiration for me, and I knew that Stoke City was a big club with a lot of history in the Premier League. That is where I want to be, and hopefully, I can take the club to where it should be.”

On having an option to make the move permanent, Maja said: “It was very important. Obviously, my time at Bordeaux hasn’t been easy this season. I was injured at the start and haven’t had the game time.

“To come here, play a number of games, and hopefully score a lot of goals, it’s obviously going to have a big impact on the club. “Hopefully I can do the job and help this club back to where it belongs, which is the Premier League.”

Maja started his first-team career with Sunderland, where he managed to score 16 goals in 41 league appearances and his display attracted Bordeaux, whom he signed for in January 2019 and went ahead to score 12 goals in 52 appearances.

In August 2019, the then Nigeria manager Gernot Rohr said he wanted Maja to represent the Super Eagles and he finally made his international debut on September 10 in a 2-2 friendly against Ukraine, replacing Victor Osimhen in added time.

Maja could make his debut when Stoke host Wigan Athletic in the fifth round of the FA Cup at bet365 Stadium today or in their next league fixture against Swansea City at the same venue on Tuesday.