Former Sunderland striker Josh Maja is looking for a new club after being released by French side Bordeaux. The 24-year-old had the best season of his career so far as he scored 16 goals for Les Girondins in Ligue 2, but his club finished third in the table and therefore missed out on promotion to the top flight.
Promotion would reportedly have triggered a contract extension for Maja, but instead his current deal has expired and he has left the club. After spending time as a youngster with Crystal Palace, Fulham, and Manchester City, Maja joined Sunderland's academy and was given his senior debut by the Black Cats in 2016.
He then scored on his league debut against Fulham in the Championship in December 2017. But it was the following season under the management of Jack Ross when he came to the fore, scoring 15 goals in 24 outings in the first half of Sunderland's first season in League One.
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Maja was in the final year of his contract and there was a stand-off as he refused to commit to an extension, which led to his sale to Bordeaux in January 2019 which deal a major blow to Sunderland's promotion chances that season. Goals were few and far between for Maja during his time in the French top flight with Bordeaux, and he spent loan spells back in England with Fulham and Stoke City.
Bordeaux were then relegated to the second tier and Maja spent last season back at the club, where he finally began to find the net on a regular basis as he had during his time at Sunderland. He leaves Bordeaux having scored 29 goals in 93 games in all competitions.
