West Brom must love Wayne Rooney comments after Plymouth Argyle clash: View | OneFootball

The Pilgrims manager was full of praise for the Baggies' Josh Maja who scored the only goal of the game.

West Bromwich Albion have been near-perfect in 2024/25, having dropped just two points from their opening six games, and their 1-0 win over Plymouth Argyle on Saturday has only helped re-affirm their clutch on the top of the table.

Josh Maja scored the only goal of the game at The Hawthorns. His strike against Wayne Rooney's Pilgrims was his sixth of the season already, equaling his third-best total in a season with 40 matches to go.

Plymouth provided tougher opposition than their league position currently shows in a storm-affected match in the Black Country, and perhaps will still feel hard done by after not coming away with anything to show from one of the toughest grounds to go to in the Championship.

Nevertheless, Maja was able to poke home from an excellent driven cross by Uros Racic, who was loaned in from Italian club Sassuolo in August.

The 25-year-old has been scoring goals from a variety of situations this season, and he has earned the praise of Rooney, despite his finish costing his team on this occasion.

Wayne Rooney sends praise Josh Maja's way

After struggling with injury following his arrival at The Hawthorns last summer, 2024/25 has been Maja's year.

He has managed to maintain his fitness early in the campaign, and has looked dangerous throughout every match.

The former Sunderland striker has put a disappointing first season in navy-and-white behind him, and he has improved greatly under Carlos Corberan, a manager who is renowned for developing talent throughout his time at Huddersfield Town and now West Brom.

So good has he been since the start of August, he was a topic of discussion in Rooney's post-match interview following his side's defeat.

Transcribed by The Mail on Sunday (22 September, page 92), the former England and Manchester United striker said: "Josh Maja’s an interesting player. He’s difficult to prepare for. He drops in almost into a false nine position.

"When you have a player who’s confident and scoring goals, he always seems to get that one opportunity and make the difference."

Maja has been a Championship cheat code in 2024/25

After a poor track record in the Championship, there may have been fears surrounding the 25-year-old leading the line for West Brom this season, however, he has been the stand-out star in a very good team.

Not many strikers in the division would have the same intelligence to position themselves in the places that Maja has done, and get himself goals from relatively easy chances, but that is what the best strikers do.

He has massively benefitted from the excellent wing-play that has been provided by Karlan Grant and Tom Fellows off the left and right flanks, and has been able to drop ever so slightly deeper to allow those two to fly past him.

It allows gaps to be created in the defence, which Maja can then glide effortlessly into, setting himself up for the pull-back on countless occasions.

If West Brom's striker continues this form, they could be a very difficult team to beat this season, and they may just be an early favourite for promotion.