Perhaps one of the more surprising deals of the January transfer window, Josh Maja’s exit from Sunderland to sign for Bordeaux in Ligue 1 was yet another example of young British talent taking a leap of faith into the unknown.
As we all now know, this can be hugely beneficial for a player’s career if things pan out like Jadon Sancho, and that will certainly have been the young striker’s hope, seeing the move from League One to Ligue 1 as the right one to take at that stage in his career.
Sitting down with France Football, Maja was asked about the reasoning behind his decision to leave Sunderland.
He said: “I felt it was the best opportunity for me to have game time in a first-team and progress. It really was a step up presenting itself to me compared to League One.”
As for what happened between him and Sunderland, it wasn’t that he didn’t want to sign a new deal, it’s just that things didn’t work out.
He explained: “We just couldn’t agree on a deal. It’s that simple. Bordeaux came in and I wanted to play at a higher level. Therefore, I decided to leave”.
Since his move from the Stadium of Light, Maja has only appeared five times for Bordeaux, with only two of those being starts, as the Ligue 1 side try and help the 20-year-old acclimatise to his new surroundings.
Prior to his move, the striker had bagged 15 goals in 24 League One appearances during the first half of the season for the Black Cats.
