Black Cats are keen not to make a Maja mistake again
STARLET MUMBA LOOKING SET TO LEAVE AS CLUB LEARNS LESSONS OF THE PAST
JOSH Maja’s acrimonious departure 18 months ago continues to cast a long shadow over Wearside.
Sunderland were stung by the manner in which one of their brightest young talents led the club a merry dance in the final year of his contract before finally forcing a cut-price move to French side Bordeaux in January 2019.
Maja was Sunderland’s 15-goal top scorer at the time and you could advance a strong argument his mid-season sale cost the club promotion.
Owner Stewart Donald was furious Maja appeared to hold all the cards, Sunderland knowing if they did not accept the offer on the table the player would be out of contract at the end of the season and could leave for a pittance.
Donald vowed not to be caught out again.
Fast forward to today and it is that determination to avoid a repeat of the Maja scenario which appears to underpin Sunderland’s apparent willingness to sell another young star Bali Mumba to Norwich City.
Academy product Mumba has emerged as a target for the Canaries and the clubs are understood to have held talks, with a fee of between £500,000 and £750,000 thought to have been agreed.
The 18-year-old is about to enter the final 12 months of his threeyear deal with the Black Cats and if there is any indication he will not extend his stay the club feels it is better to sell him now than risk losing him for less next summer.
Fans will regard the fee being discussed as a snip for a player who has won England honours at under-16, under-17, under-18 and under-19 levels and it would represent between one-third and one half the amount Sunderland received for Maja.
However, Maja (pictured below) is a striker and goalscorers always attract a premium.
Not only that, he had proved himself at League One level over the course of half a season, starting games and scoring goals on a regular basis.
In contrast, Mumba has made just 10 senior appearances - including only two league starts - over the last two seasons.
While Mumba has plenty of potential, he has not progressed to a stage where he is a serious challenger either to Luke O’Nien at right wing-back or to Max Power, George Dobson, Josh Scowen or Grant Leadbitter in central midfield.
Then there is the impact of the Covid-19 crisis, which is likely to result in a seriously depressed transfer market with player values vastly reduced.
While there may be a cogent, logical, case for selling Mumba, it will cut little ice with fans.
Supporters who were unhappy at the way
Maja was allowed to leave have reacted with fury at the prospect of losing Mumba, their anger fuelled by the fact Donald’s stock has fallen dramatically over the last 12 months.
Donald was welcomed with open arms when he took over two years ago - but now he is persona non grata on Wearside.
Fans want him to honour his promise to sell up quickly.
In the meantime, they regard every move he makes with extreme cynicism and suspicion. With Sunderland up for sale, the accusation is Mumba’s likely sale is an example of asset-stripping selling off one of the club’s homegrown jewels before handing over to new owners. The problem with that view is any sale price will take into account the value of the club’s playing assets, just as it does the bricks and mortar buildings of the Stadium of Light and Academy of Light.
Any new owner would be buying the assets and for a football club that includes the transfer value of players. So it is more likely the sound of the clock ticking on Mumba’s contract - and the fear of seeing him go the same way as Maja - has led to Sunderland entertaining Norwich’s offer.