Nigeria international, Josh Maja has revealed one short conversation with West Brom boss, Carlos Corberán was all he needed to be convinced to join the Spaniard’s squad.
The 24-year-old Nigerian striker penned a three-year deal at The Hawthorns on Tuesday after leaving French club Bordeaux at the end of the 2022/23 campaign.
Maja spent the last four-and-a-half years in the south of France having previously represented Sunderland, with loan spells to Fulham and Stoke City in 2021 and 2022 respectively also forming part of his senior career C.V.
The striker was incredibly impressed by Corberán’s vision and mentality when speaking before making the switch to B71, and Maja says he’s excited to see just how much he can improve under Albion’s head coach.
Josh said: “It was certainly a fun experience playing in France. It’s completely different to the United Kingdom in terms of style and tempo, but I feel like I learnt a lot.
“Last year was probably the best year of my career in terms of consistency, goals and game time, so yeah, I would say it was a great experience overall.
“However, I felt like I needed a fresh start just because I had been away from the United Kingdom for a while. I spent four-and-a-half years in France.
“We knew Albion were one of the clubs interested in me and our ambitions seemed to match quite well.
“The conversation I had with Carlos Corberán was short. I’ve only spoken to him once, but that’s probably all I needed.”
He continued: “I got a really good energy from him. He’s a serious coach with intense ideas and an intense mentality which is something that matches up with me and my values.
“He’s a football head, which I am as well.
“I’m hoping to learn a lot from him and to perform well. I’ve heard a lot of great things from team-mates from the past who have said good things about him.
“It’s exciting to be here and I’m looking forward to working with him.”
Maja heads to The Hawthorns off the back of an impressive term with Bordeaux in Ligue 2.
The forward scored 16 times in 38 appearances and was the division’s fourth most prolific marksman.
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
