West Brom missed £17m Josh Maja cash windfall | OneFootball

The Baggies will have rued not cashing in on Josh Maja for £17m, who is now set to depart The Hawthorns for nothing.

It’s been a painful season for all connected with West Brom, who hope they can secure Championship survival despite concerning off-the-field issues.

The Baggies still remain firmly in the relegation mire under interim boss James Morrison, with their League One fears intensifying after it was revealed they had been charged by the EFL with an alleged breach of profit and sustainability rules during the 2024-25 campaign.

If found guilty, Albion would suffer a minor points deduction, but that could still have massive implications on whether they remain in the division, with their Championship future currently on a knife edge.

It’s been a stark contrast for Albion supporters to get used by being towards the bottom end of the division this term, with the Black Country outfit normally fighting at the top end and in contention for a return to the Premier League.

And that was certainly the case under Carlos Corberan, who, in the summer of 2023, had just dealt with the disappointment of narrowly missing out on the play-offs, but would have taken great pride in guiding the Baggies from the foot of the second tier table to ninth when taking over from Steve Bruce.

Looking to go one step further, Albion bolstered their squad during the summer transfer window, particularly in their forward line when securing the capture of former Sunderland and Fulham striker Josh Maja on a free transfer.

The Nigerian international had departed French side Bordeaux to link up at The Hawthorns, with excitement brewing that he could supply enough ammunition after a promising pedigree of playing in the top divisions of both England and France.

But the majority of his debut season would be sidelined through injury.

In September 2023, Maja picked up the first of two ankle injuries, keeping him out for eight weeks after picking up the issue at Bristol City.

Then, after making his return, Maja was on the receiving end of a crunching challenge from Sunderland defender Dan Ballard.

Stretchered off at the Stadium of Light, Maja was ruled out for four months after suffering significant ligament damage, failing to feature for the remainder of the term.

But after taking an extended period of time to recover, the Baggies saw the best of their frontman at the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign, leading to Albion putting a massive price tag on his head.

But as his future has worn on at The Hawthorns, West Brom must be ruing not cashing in on their once star striker, with his form deserting him since that purple patch.

Josh Maja’s form for West Brom and £17m demand

Despite such a lengthy injury lay-off, Josh Maja was able to get a full pre-season under his belt and hit the ground running with a starting spot under Corberan, leading to a flurry of goals in the opening weeks of the 2024-25 campaign.

Maja set his stall out by netting a marvellous hat-trick in a 3-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers, before scoring four goals in his next six games to take his tally up to seven.

Heading into the festive period, the Baggies frontman found the back of the net against Luton Town, Hull City and Norwich City, while bagging a brace on the opening day of 2025 in a victory over Preston North End.

That left Maja on 12 goals for the term and such a vital player to help aid a promotion run.

While the goals were welcomed, Maja offered a lot more to his game too, with his deep runs and silky link-up play just as valuable to helping Albion transition quickly from defence into attack, and then when in the final third, usually being in the right place to finish off the service provided from both Mikey Johnston and Tom Fellows on the flanks.

At the time, Maja was showing all the attributes of a Premier League player in waiting, with his goalscoring prowess seeing him become one of the most potent forwards in the division.

And with such a presence provided in attack and a key focal point up front, Maja’s impressive run of form didn’t go unnoticed, with some Premier League heavyweights casting their eye over the striker during that January transfer window.

£17m price tag on Maja for clubs to pay in order to secure his services.

Eventually, a deal didn’t materialise, but Albion may now have some regret that they didn’t cash in, as Maja’s career took a downwards spiral following on from such an impressive run of goalscoring form.

Josh Maja’s decline and West Brom regret

Just over two weeks on from his double against Preston, West Brom released the news that Josh Maja had suffered a lower leg injury in training, with surgery needed to rectify the issue.

It was originally believed the 27-year-old would return in the spring, but he would not make a single appearance for the remainder of the campaign, which in turn saw Albion’s promotion hopes fade away, as Tony Mowbray failed to galvanise the playing squad after Corberan left The Hawthorns to take on the job at his boyhood club Valencia at Christmas.

Returning this term, Maja has just never quite looked the same player, which has been a contributing factor to West Brom getting sucked into a relegation dogfight.

Now, Maja has lost his clinical eye for goal, his turn of pace and a silky first touch, leading to the frontman scoring just a handful of times all season and, more often than not, featuring from the substitutes bench.

The situation with Maja will leave a lot of Baggies supporters scratching their heads as to where it has all gone so wrong, with this leg injury seemingly killing off the best days of his career.

And with his contract running down this summer, Maja is set to depart The Hawthorns on a free transfer, with the striker contributing nowhere near enough to justify earning a new deal.

With all this playing out, the West Brom hierarchy will be devastated they didn’t cash in and make such a healthy profit on Maja when they had the opportunity, with that decision potentially saving Albion from the mess they are currently in with the EFL.

It’s yet another case of Albion holding onto assets for far too long and whittling away their sell-on value when top-flight interest emerged, with Isaac Price and Saido Berahino other examples in recent years that the Baggies failed to cash in on when their value soared.

This is an area the Baggies have to get better in, with such a lack of proactiveness restricting the club from making impactful financial gains that could help them in the long-term future.