Interest in Maja could land Sunderland around £1m in sell-on clause

West Ham United and Crystal Palace are weighing up a £10million summer move for Bordeaux striker Josh Maja – and it could hand Sunderland a cash boost.

The two London-based Premier League clubs have long been credited with an interest in Maja, and fresh reports in the national press claim they are looking to firm up that interest.

If they were to make a move then that would be good news for Sunderland, who sold Maja last January and included a sell-on clause as part of the deal.

The sell-on clause is understood to be 10 per cent, as previously reported.

Maja scored 16 goals for Sunderland before he left Wearside last January having rejected the chance of a new deal to remain at the Stadium of Light.

His exit proved a huge blow for the Black Cats’ automatic promotion hopes with replacement Will Grigg failing to hit the same heights following his move from Wigan Athletic – the Northern Ireland international only netting five goals in 38 games since his January deadline day move to Sunderland.

Maja hit the headlines again recently with his Sunderland exit a key storyline of the second series of Sunderland 'Til I Die, released on Netflix earlier this month.

Maja’s fine form and subsequent exit took prominence in the early episodes of season two.

Reflecting on his Sunderland exit, Maja told the Echo: “I have ambitions in my career and in my life and this is just a stepping stone for me.

“I want to keep pushing and fans need to understand what players want for themselves.

“Even though that is a bit selfish, it’s a selfish game, isn’t it?

“For me it was important to make that move and playing at a higher level, it’s a given."

Since signing a four and a half-year deal with French side Bordeuax in January 2019, Maja has made 28 appearances for The Girondins and scored seven goals in the process.

He also went on to make his international debut for Nigeria in September of the same year – coming on as a substitute in a 2-2 draw with Ukraine.

As a youngster he played for Crystal Palace youth team, as well as Fulham, and despite being formally registered with the Cottagers he spent some time with Man City.