Former Sunderland striker Josh Maja has explained his reasons for leaving the League One club in January to join Bordeaux. 

The 20-year-old had six months left on his contract at the Stadium of Light, but could not agree a new deal with the club.

Maja scored an impressive 15 goals in 24 games for Sunderland in League One this season and is still the Black Cats leading scorer.

The striker admitted that he wanted the chance to play at a higher level and explained this as part of his reason for leaving the club.

"We just could not agree. It's that simple," Maja told France Football, as quoted by HITC.

"Bordeaux arrived and I wanted to play at a higher level. So I decided to leave.

"I made a lot of progress at the beginning of the season, and I think that's when they decided to take action.

"I felt it was the best opportunity for me to have time in the first team and to progress.

"It was really a higher step up to me compared to League One."

Maja has made five appearances for Bordeaux since joining the Ligue 1 club and has only made two starts.

Bordeaux are without a win in their last five matches and currently sit 13th in the Ligue 1 table, but are comfortably clear of the relegation zone.

Sunderland meanwhile are fourth in League One, five points behind second-place Barnsley with two games in hand and face Portsmouth in the Checkatrade Trophy final at Wembley on Sunday.

The Verdict:

You can understand Maja wanting the chance to play at a higher level, but Sunderland are in with a good chance of winning promotion to the Championship anyway, so perhaps he should have remained until the end of the season.

The striker has failed to make an impact at Bordeaux since joining the Ligue 1 club and it remains to be seen whether it was the right decision for him to move to France.