Stoke City remain interested in 23-year-old | OneFootball

Stoke City might not have seen the best from on-loan forward Josh Maja over the course of the season but the club might still bring him back to the bet365 Stadium over the summer, as reported by StokeOnTrent Live.

The Potters looked like they might be on course for a Championship promotion push at one stage of the season but that run ultimately fizzled out and the side had to instead settle for a midtable finish.

They won’t want that to happen again and that could lead to a busy summer transfer window during the offseason – and one name that could be brought back into the fold that will be familiar to Stoke fans is Josh Maja.

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The 23-year-old made the move to the club back in January on a short-term basis, with the Potters holding a vested interest in the player for quite some time. However, he didn’t perhaps have quite the goal tally they would have wanted, with the former Sunderland man managing only one goal in 15 Championship outings.

Despite not hitting the same heights as he has previously – he managed 17 in 49 during his time with the Black Cats and a further 11 in 48 with Bordeaux in France – it looks as though the club though have still seen enough to warrant a fresh move for the player.

They will at least be keeping tabs on the player according to StokeOnTrent Live and that means that if he becomes available again, then they could once more look to bring him back to the second tier of English football. With Bordeaux seemingly quite happy to let him leave, it looks as though a deal could potentially happen.

The Verdict

Josh Maja is still only early on in his career and anybody who has watched the forward play over the course of his career so far will know there is definitely some talent there.

He was once one of the hottest properties in the Football League when he was at Sunderland but it hasn’t quite worked out for him in France. He needs a fresh start and somewhere that he can play football week-in and week-out. It could take him back to his best form and get him firing more frequently again.

A chance to shine at Stoke hasn’t quite gone as well as he would have liked but that doesn’t mean it has been an outright failure. He featured prominently and there certainly were flourishes and flashes of his brilliance in the second half of the campaign.

If he is allowed to leave permanently this summer – and the asking price is reduced – Stoke could do a lot worse than Josh Maja if they can get him to buy into their football and style of play.