Exclusive: Chelsea Consider January Move for Bordeaux Forward Josh Maja
By Tom Gott
Chelsea are contemplating a January move for Bordeaux forward Josh Maja to offer competition to Tammy Abraham.
Maja swapped Sunderland for Bordeaux in January 2019 after rejecting a new contract from the Black Cats and has enjoyed an impressive start to life in France. The Nigerian has managed seven goals in 23 appearances, only starting eight games.
He has struggled to hold down a permanent place in Bordeaux's starting lineup but has still bagged five goals to steer the club up to seventh in Ligue 1, and 90min has learned Chelsea scouts have been seriously impressed with the 20-year-old's performances.
His finest moment in a Bordeaux shirt came in a recent 6-0 win over Nîmes Olympique, in which Maja managed three goals and an assist in just his third start of the season.
The Blues have been scouring Europe to try find a young striker capable of providing competition for Abraham, who has bagged 11 Premier League goals in his first season as Chelsea's first-choice forward.
Neither Michy Batshuayi nor Olivier Giroud have proven to be reliable backups, and now that Chelsea's transfer ban has been lifted they are free to look around to find some alternatives.
London-born Maja could now be offered the chance to return to his hometown in January as the Blues look to bolster their squad and bounce back from a challenging run of form which has seen them lose four of their last five league games.
Despite their miserable form, Chelsea remain fourth in the league table, but their lead in the race for the top four is in real jeopardy.
Outside of Abraham, the Blues' forwards have struggled for goals this year. Both Mason Mount and Christian Pulisic have struggled of late, so scouts are eager to find some much-needed firepower to help them remain in the hunt for Champions League football.
