Transfer: Nigerian-Born Josh Maja joins Fulham

Fulham has completed a loan signing of Nigerian-Born Josh Maja from Bordeaux.

The club made this known in a press statement on its website.

“We are delighted to announce the signing of Josh Maja from Bordeaux on loan.

“The 22-year-old striker will remain with Fulham for the remainder of the 2020/21 campaign, with an option for the deal to be made permanent,” the statement added.

Speaking to fulhamfc.com after signing, Maja said, “I’m really excited and proud to sign for Fulham on loan for the remainder of the season.

“This is a big opportunity and I look forward to meeting up with the team and working hard to achieve positive results.”

A South London boy, Maja spent time with Crystal Palace before joining the Fulham Academy at the age of 11 in May 2010.

Maja spent three years in SW6, honing his craft alongside the likes of current Whites players Jerome Opoku, Taye Ashby-Hammond and Marlon Fossey.

After spending some time with Manchester City, he later joined Sunderland, making his senior debut in the League Cup in September 2016.

The following season he was handed a Championship debut by Chris Coleman, scoring the winner after coming off the bench against Slaviša Jokanović’s Fulham side, the last match before the famous 23 game unbeaten run.

It will be the 2018/19 campaign that Maja looks back on as the year he well and truly announced himself, when he had scored 16 goals by mid-January and boasted the best goals (0.63) per game ratio in League One.

This persuaded Bordeaux to take him to France, where last season he scored seven goals, including a hat-trick against Nimes.

Maja’s performances in Ligue 1 earned him a first call-up to the Nigeria international squad in September 2019, and he made his debut that same month in a team that also featured Ola Aina.

NP/Mercy Chukwudiebere