WEST BROMWICH, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 01: Semi Ajayi of West Bromwich Albion(R) celebrates after scoring his sides second goal with his team mates during the Sky Bet Championship match between West Bromwich Albion and Luton Town at The Hawthorns on February 01, 2020 in West Bromwich, England. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
Former Sunderland, Stoke City, Fulham and Bordeaux striker has joined Championship rivals West Brom
Maja netted 16 goals in the French second division for Bordeaux during the 2022-23 season taking his career tally to 52 in 178 senior appearances across all competitions but became a free agent during the summer.
Maja, who left Sunderland for a reported £3.5million transfer package, has spent time on loan at Fulham in the Premier League and Stoke City in the Championship in recent years and saw a move to Birmingham City collapse a couple of windows ago.
The London-born Nigeria international netted 17 goals in 49 appearances whilst with Sunderland before scoring three in 15 during six months on loan with Fulham during the 2020-21 season as The Cottagers were relegated from the Premier League. Maja scored two in 17 for Stoke City during 2021-22.
“I am happy to have Josh here at the club. It was an important aim of ours to reinforce this position during the summer. We have done so with a player who has a big desire to succeed,” Baggies boss Carlos Corberán said.
“Josh has international and Premier League experience and his skills complement Brandon Thomas-Asante in a way which means they can play together or on their own. He drops deep to build attacks and also has good instincts in the box.
“Josh has been working hard while he has been a free agent this summer but will still need some time with our staff to make sure he is ready to face the challenge of games. We will work with him to manage this process.
REAL MORE:
Colback was released by Forest at the end of the season having featured 11 times in the topflight as Steve Cooper’s side managed to secure their place in the Premier League for a second season, but now the 33-year-old is set to return to the Championship in some capacity.
The 33-year-old was a mainstay as Nottingham Forest won promotion to England’s top division in the 2021/22 season, playing 46 times in all competitions, which has ensured there is no shortage of clubs chasing his signature.
Carlos Corberan is desperate to strengthen his Baggies side ahead of the upcoming season but has been hampered by financial fair play rules limiting arrivals at the Hawthorns to loanees and free agents.
Colback offers a rare opportunity to add genuine Championship pedigree to the West Bromwich midfield, without having to pay a penny and represents a level of safety and security a young player can’t.
In his last season in England’s second tier the ‘midfield general,’ was a force in terms of winning back possession, sitting in the top 15% of midfielders in terms of successful tackles per 90 minutes played
Defensively is where he shone, falling just outside the top 30% of midfielders in terms of interceptions while also being rather reluctant to clear the ball when in possession instead looking for short passes.
On the ball, it was well and truly a case of it being his job to give the ball to the more creative players around him like Morgan Gibbs-White and Brennan Johnson, with Colback completing 81.5% of all his attempted passes, unfortunately very few of these are progressive
