West Brom situation like Diangana and Swift sagas - "it would be a surprise" to see Josh Maja stay | OneFootball

Josh Maja is entering the final months of his current deal at The Hawthorns

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

It has been a mixed start to life as West Bromwich Albion head coach for Ryan Mason, and the 34-year-old has plenty of key decisions to make that could impact the club's short and long-term goals.

After falling to a frustrating ninth-place finish last season under a plethora of permanent and temporary bosses, the former Tottenham Hotspur man was chosen as the man to steer the club into a new direction under Shilen Patel's ownership following the underwhelming return of Tony Mowbray.

Albion were among the Championship's early pace-setters in the opening month of the campaign, having won three of their opening four encounters whilst remaining unbeaten in August, before slightly regressing following the conclusion of the summer transfer window with uninspiring defeats at the hands of Derby County and league leaders, Middlesbrough.

Despite having several experienced and highly-talented attacking and creative options among their ranks, regardless of the high-profile departure of Tom Fellows to Southampton - it has been a criticism that Albion have started to misfire in front of goal whilst also not providing their main focal points with enough chances to get on the end of.

Josh Maja has had limited opportunities under Mason thus far, having recently returned from a calf injury which kept him sidelined from January onwards as Albion's play-off hopes faded into the abyss.

However, there has been a debate among many supporters about whether the 26-year-old will remain in B71 past the end of the season when his current deal expires.

Maja joined the West Midlands side on a free transfer in August 2023 after leaving Bordeaux at the end of his contract, previously moving to the French side after rejecting a new deal with Sunderland in the winter of 2019.

The one-time Nigerian international has since scored 13 times in 43 appearances so far for the Baggies, and ended last season as the club's top scorer despite a long-term layoff.

Football League World's West Brom fan pundit, Callum Burgess, believes that such factors will be taken into account when the club weighs up the possibility of an extension, but he wouldn't be surprised to see Maja follow the likes of Grady Diangana and John Swift as experienced attacking options who left The Hawthorns on a free transfer following the expiration of their respective contracts.

"When you take his history into account, he did join Albion when his contract at Bordeaux expired, and also joined Bordeaux when he entered the final six months of his Sunderland contract," Burgess told FLW.

"It would be a surprise (if he stays) if you take that into account, the fact he's been allowed to enter the final year of his contract without a new deal in place. We've seen plenty of players like Diangana and Swift see their contracts end, but they've not had the impact that Maja had in an Albion shirt last season," he claimed.

"Personally, there will be a lot of interest in signing Maja from a lot of teams in the next year or so, and I think it depends on how Albion do this season," Burgess stated.

"If we're challenging for the play-offs or end up falling just short, I think our ambition will relate to where Maja sees himself. But, my gut feeling is that I can see Maja leaving us on a free in the summer or for a cut-price fee in January."

West Bromwich Albion must take decisive Josh Maja action ASAP

At the time of his move to the West Midlands, there was no option of a further year inserted into Maja's contract, meaning the Albion hierarchy must take action as soon as possible for the good of the club and the player.

Since his return to full fitness, many have clamoured for the centre-forward to be handed a maiden start of the season, with Mason previously opting to start the tireless summer recruit, Aune Heggebo, instead, with Maja often coming on to partner the young Norwegian in the latter stages of outings, such as the 2-1 defeat at the Riverside Stadium last Friday.

His exploits as top scorer last season cannot be ignored when it comes to team selection or a new contract either, with Maja having the ability and attributes that can help fire the Baggies into the play-offs, able to get into strong forward positions whilst linking up well with the likes of Mikey Johnston, Jed Wallace and Isaac Price.

It would be somewhat of a lose-lose situation for the club to not tie the ex-Fulham man down to a new deal. Losing him in January for a cut-price deal - even though it would represent a profit - could seriously hamper the club's top-six ambitions, whilst losing his services on a free in the summer could do that in the long-term.