Sunderland’s Josh Maja has emerged as one of the hottest properties of English football of late, and quite a few clubs are after his signature. Celtic are also one of the teams who have been monitoring (The Sun) his situation and we believe the club has an excellent chance of landing him.
Latest reports from the Sun indicates that the Black Cats have rejected a £2m bid for the striker from Premier League outfit Cardiff City and the Tyneside club is set to demand double of that amount. For £4m, Maja can be a real bargain, and Celtic should try their luck in luring this English striker to Parkhead.
The club might have already done their business for forwards as Rodgers has already signed the likes of Vakoun Issouf Bayo and Timothy Weah. However, the latter is just on a six-month loan, and the club might have to scramble again in the next transfer window to sign another striker.
Therefore this window gives them a perfect opportunity to land a talented forward on a permanent basis and Maja has the ability to thrive in the Premiership. Some English clubs have also been monitoring his situation, but we believe Celtic can offer regular game time to the 20-year-old forward. This would hopefully be the ace in the hole for the Hoops.
The striker already has 15 goals to his name this season and Maja has been one of the few bright spots for Sunderland in the last two years where they had suffered successive relegations. £4m for a 20-year-old striker sounds like decent business to us, and Sunderland could be keen to sell him as the striker has rejected (The Guardian) a chance to sign a new deal at the Stadium of Light.
Maja showcases terrific pace and dribbling skills, and Rodgers can even use him as a winger when required. Along with that, the 20-year-old looks calm and composed in front of goal, and his goalscoring record is a testament to his finishing skills. We wouldn’t be wrong in saying that Maja can be perfect like for like replacement for someone like Moussa Dembele who left Celtic in the summer transfer window deadline day of 2018.
At the moment, signing a defender and a right back should be a priority for the Hoops. However, now that a player like Maja is available in the market, Celtic shouldn’t think twice about getting a deal done for him this month. If the player goes on to stay at Sunderland until the end of the season, Celtic’s chances to sign him could reduce as certain Premier League clubs might fancy him and the player can be lured because of the wages they can offer.
