With Leeds and Sheffield United seemingly running away with the automatic promotion places, West Bromwich Albion are going to have to be at the top of their game to remain in the playoff positions in the Championship as a tricky March comes into view.
It couldn’t be any more difficult for the Baggies to start the new month with a trip to table-topping Leeds up next, with another tricky away day coming shortly after in the form of Scott Parker’s defensively staunch Burnley.
Tony Mowbray will be relying on picking up wins back at the Hawthorns, therefore, but he will be without Josh Maja for the foreseeable unfortunately, with the Baggies top scorer still stricken with injury.
Josh Maja’s goalscoring heroics this season
Before picking up a lower leg injury that required surgery, Maja was in the goalscoring form of his life in the West Midlands.
From 26 Championship clashes, the 26-year-old had helped himself to a blistering 12 strikes, with Mowbray no doubt gutted that his arrival on the scene after Carlos Corberan’s exit coincided with Albion’s talisman being sidelined.
The playoff hopefuls have added the likes of Adam Armstrong and Will Lankshear to their camp on loan to try and soften this immense blow, but with just one goal between them so far, it goes without saying that West Brom are a far more frightening prospect up top when the ex-Sunderland man is fit and firing.
Amazingly, there is a former Baggie who is outscoring Maja’s sizeable double digits, leading to his transfer value skyrocketing far beyond his once modest value when lining up at the Hawthorns.
Where Are They Now
Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast’s Where Are They Now series.
Former West Brom star is now on fire
West Brom has been home to a number of top attacking talents over the years, whether that’s via the electric loan spell of Romelu Lukaku or Peter Odemwingie lighting up the Premier League for the Baggies before his sour departure.
A certain Chris Wood won’t exactly be remembered as a great in West Brom circles, but his career definitely took off after leaving the West Midlands outfit behind.
Much like Maja, it could be said that the New Zealand attacker is a man possessed in front of goal at the moment, with the towering 6-foot centre-forward often in the right place at the right time to finish off a golden opportunity.
Wood is up to 18 goals now in the Premier League this season due to this killer instinct coming to the forefront, with his transfer value sitting at £6m according to Football Transfers, a slight fall from the £15m Forest signed him for from Newcastle but evidence, that, at the age of 33, he’s at the top of his game.
|
Wood’s numbers since leaving West Brom |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat |
Wood |
|
Games played since leaving |
618 |
|
Goals scored |
227 |
|
Assists |
41 |
|
Hat tricks |
8x |
|
Value at West Brom |
£830k |
|
Value now |
£6m |
|
Sourced by Transfermarkt |
|
West Brom must wish now they kept a stronger grip on the Auckland-born striker during the fledging parts of his career, with Wood only worth £830k by the time of his Baggies exit, having only powered home three goals in the senior ranks.
Since then, however, he’s become one of the “most efficient players in Europe’s top 5 leagues” in the words of Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley, with his £7m price-tag now meaning his valuation has shot up by 743%.
Away from their ex-striker’s rise, West Brom will hope they can fast-track Maja back to full fitness soon, with the potential there for the 26-year-old to take the Premier League by storm next season when facing off against Wood’s Forest.
Related
Fellows 2.0: West Brom could fix Wallace blow by unleashing “bright” teen
West Bromwich Albion could soon look to their U21s to boost their attacking options.
