West Brom facing big potential £17m Josh Maja decision | OneFootball

West Brom have to calculate a response to Spanish club Celta Vigo's proposed interest in top scorer Josh Maja

Carlos Corberan's West Bromwich Albion have made an admirable start to the 2024/25 Championship season, picking up six wins and seven draws from their opening 15 fixtures.

The Baggies' standout player has been Nigerian striker Josh Maja, who has ranked highly in all attacking statistics and consistently led the line. However, with rumours circulating about a potential move away, West Brom may have a big decision on their hands.

Celta Vigo's interest in Maja was revealed this week, with the Spanish club willing to match West Brom's valuation of the player. This could cause a real issue for the Baggies hierarchy, as losing their star asset midway through the season could put a serious dent in their promotion hopes.

The forward has been at the heart of all of West Brom's attacking play. Without his goals, promotion back to the top flight could be a much harder vision to achieve.

Celta Vigo want to sign Josh Maja from West Brom

Reports emerged this week that Celta Vigo are prepared to make a £17 million bid for Maja in the January transfer window. The Nigerian forward is seen as a replacement for former Liverpool man Iago Aspas, and will head up Los Celestes' attack.

Celta Vigo are prepared to match the club's valuation and bid for the player. With nine goals in 15 matches this season, letting Maja go would prove problematic.

The Baggies have only managed to find the net 16 times in the league, meaning that their striker has scored 56.2% of the team's total goals. Removing this from the side would be extremely detrimental to Corberan's attack, who have already struggled at times.

The West Brom hierarchy now face a tough decision about whether it is worth convincing Maja to stay, or to cash in on the striker during a sizzling purple patch.

Josh Maja has performed excellently for West Brom this season

It is not purely goals that Maja has offered this season, as he has excelled in all areas of attack.

The Nigerian ranks first for quality of shooting (xGOT), as well as xG. He is always in the right place at the right time to capitalise on the chances fashioned by his teammates.

He retains a high pass accuracy for a striker, and frequently wins fouls from defenders, which helps to retain possession in Corberan's decidedly higher tempo tactic. It is also notable that the striker creates almost one chance every game. For a traditional striker whose primary goal is to put the ball in the back of the net, this is remarkably high.

Furthermore, Maja's style of play directly complements Corberan's tactic. He only receives 3.89 progressive passes per 90 minutes, rarely contributing to the build up and instead shaking off defenders with astute movement and cleverly timed runs. Crosses from wide areas have been a key conversion method this season - Maja's opening day hat-trick came via three near identical goals, two of which were from Tom Fellows' delivery from the right.

Cut-backs from wingers Tom Fellows and Karlan Grant have been the primary conversion method for Maja this season.

Josh Maja will be tough to replace if he leaves West Brom

It is doubtless that Maja's impact would be sorely missed if he were to depart the Hawthorns. Lacking a true backup striker, West Brom may have to delve into the transfer market in order to find a new forward if Maja's head is turned by Celta Vigo.

With Daryl Dike still injured, Devante Cole only managing 44 minutes this season and Karlan Grant moved between the left-wing and the number 10 role, there seems no true replacement for Maja who could step up immediately to fill his shoes.

With the January transfer window right around the corner, Corberan and West Brom have a tough time ahead of them if they wish to retain their star player's services from top-flight vultures willing to pay big money. However, doing so could be entirely pivotal to their promotion push, so they may do everything in their power to convince Maja to stay at the Hawthorns.