'It would surely make sense' - Should Blackburn Rovers revisit transfer deal for 22-year-old in January? The verdict

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict’ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more

Blackburn Rovers CEO Steve Waggott has not ruled out another move for Bordeaux striker Josh Maja in the summer, during an interview with the Lancashire Telegraph.

Rovers were unable to bring in a striker to replace Adam Armstrong in August, and despite Ben Brereton Diaz and Sam Gallagher showing that they can step up to the plate, fans were left frustrated when the window slammed shut.

Maja, who spent time within the academies at Crystal Palace, Fulham, and Manchester City, eventually graduated through the youth system at Sunderland.

Scoring 16 goals in 49 appearances for The Black Cats, which included 14 in 24 appearances during the 2018/19 campaign, Maja joined Bordeaux in 2019.

Maja has proceeded to score 11 times in 48 appearances for the Ligue 1 side, but he joined Fulham on loan in January, netting three times in 15.

We asked three of our writers here at FLW to share their opinion as to whether or not Blackburn should revisit a deal for Josh Maja in January...

Toby Wilding

It would surely make sense for Blackburn to consider going back in for Maja at the very least.

Having failed to replace Adam Armstrong during the summer transfer window, finding an extra source of goals by January at the latest could be key to Rovers having any chance of competing in the Championship this season, lifting some of the pressure on Ben Brereton and Sam Gallagher in that respect.

Maja past experience suggests has already shown he is capable of making an impact in front of goal, and given his apparent desire to return to England, a move to somewhere such as Ewood Park could help him to thrive.

Given the frustration there was around the lack of a centre forward addition this summer, and the issues Rovers also face at the minute around securing new contracts for key players - Brereton included - this could also be a welcome boost for morale among the supporters if they get it done, given the interest these links with Maja seem to have gained.

As a result, this does look like a deal worth revisiting for Rovers, but that doesn't mean they should be writing off other potential attacking transfer targets just yet, when you consider what they could also offer.

George Dagless

The early signs would suggest that Blackburn could be fine without him this season, but I do think they may be tempted regardless.

They've started really nicely and Tony Mowbray will be pleased with how they've got themselves into the top six at this early stage, proving hard to beat and largely coping without the likes of Harvey Elliott and Adam Armstrong.

Of course, they'll want to avoid drawing too many games and that could be where another attacker like Maja comes in and helps, so I wouldn't rule them out going for him again in the January market.

I think Mowbray will be content enough to see what the next few months hold, and then he'll make a decision accordingly based on league position when we head into 2022.

Ben Wignall

If the funds are there to do a deal for Maja then I think it would be a no-brainer for Blackburn to revisit it.

From what CEO Steve Waggott was saying, it sounded like Maja really wanted to make the move late on in the summer transfer window but for whatever reason it fell through.

Now Maja will probably be sitting on the sidelines at Bordeaux when he could have been playing football and that will be a negative going into the January window in terms of his match fitness, but he scored goals for Fulham in the Premier League last season so surely he can provide the goods in the Championship.

Rovers are doing pretty well to start the season despite the loss of Adam Armstrong but you do get the feeling that Sam Gallagher is never going to be a consistent goalscorer which means the onus is all on Ben Brereton Diaz until January.

Maja would have provided that different option with his explosive pace pretty similar to Armstrong, so it does make a lot of sense to try and do a deal in a few months time when the window is open again as Tony Mowbray is thin on the ground when it comes to strikers.