Sunderland’s League One hotshot Maja is reportedly a target for The Black Cats’ rivals and Championship promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough.
The prospect of losing Josh Maja in January doesn’t bare thinking about for Sunderland.
The 19-year-old forward is absolutely key to The Black Cats’ hopes of an immediate return to the Championship and took his tally to 10 goals in 14 League One starts when he came off the bench to salvage a draw at home to Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday.
But the downside to Maja’s rapid rise is that he is attracting interest from elsewhere.
Even the most ardent Sunderland fan could probably accept the teenager having his head turned by interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City, as reported by The Mirror. But the thought of Maja leaving for North East rivals Middlesbrough will have supporters waking up in cold sweats.
According to The Times, Middlesbrough are keeping tabs on arguably the most exciting youngster to grace the third tier since Dele Alli was running the show for MK Dons.
Maja is out of contract at the end of the season and, as reported by the Times, manager Jack Ross is determined to tie his go-to goalscorer down to a new contract to avoid losing him for little more than a minimal compensation fee.
Middlesbrough, meanwhile, are second in the Championship after 17 games but they have scored just 19 goals so far. Only QPR have scored fewer in the top half of the table.
Boro have already signed one Sunderland star this season, bringing Paddy McNair to the Riverside in the summer.
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