Maja joins Nigerian trio at Fulham

THE number of Nigerian players in Fulham’s senior squad rose to four on Monday night with the arrival of Josh Maja.

The striker joined the Premier League club on a temporary contract from Bordeaux and the deal was confirmed on Tuesday morning.”We are delighted to announce the signing of Josh Maja from Bordeaux on loan,” Fulham stated on their official website.

“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.”

Maja, who was born in England but has played for the Super Eagles, is teaming up with Ola Aina, Tosin Adarabioyo and Ademola Lookman.

Although Aina is the only one of the four to have played competitive matches for the Super Eagles (Maja featured in a friendly), Adarabioyo and Lookman could still feature for the country of their parents despite youth caps for England.

“I’m really excited and proud to sign for Fulham on loan for the remainder of the season,” Maja told fulhamfc.com.

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

Fulham owner Tony Khan said: “I’m delighted that we’ve been able to bring Josh back to Fulham. He’s made tremendous progress in the years since he left our Academy, and now he’s returning to the Club in our First Team with an opportunity to earn his place in our squad and prove himself at the highest level. Come on Fulham!”

Maja, who spent three years at Fulham’s academy before playing for Sunderland, scored twice in 17 Ligue 1 appearances for Bordeaux in the first half of the season.

The young striker will hope to make a comeback to the Super Eagles after coming on for Victor Osimhen in added time in the friendly against Ukraine in September 2019 for his only Nigeria cap so far.