Western Daily Press

City and Boro watching Black Cats youngster

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MIDDLESBRO­UGH have reportedly joined Bristol City in keeping tabs on Sunderland forward Josh Maja.

The Black Cats front man has netted 11 goals in 20 appearance­s in League One so far this season.

The 19-year-old’s scoring record is said to have alerted the Robins, but they are not the only Championsh­ip club interested.

Reports suggest that Boro have also been watching the striker, who netted in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Wycombe Wanderers.

Maja joined the Black Cats from Fulham as a 16-year-old and is in the final season of his deal on Wearside, with talks over a new deal ongoing.

Should they break down, clubs such as City could tempt Sunderland to cash in on the player in January, or risk losing him on a compensati­on package.

Sunderland boss Jack Ross told Chronicle Live that he was confident the player will commit his future to the club.

He said: “There’s no update on Josh’s contract situation. I think the owners know I am invested in progressin­g the club as a whole.

“You have to think in the short- term as well, and I know that Josh will be a player with me until January as a minimum, and I would expect him to be here longer than that, although we can’t say that with any certainty until everything has been resolved from a contractua­l point of view. I’ve still got every confidence that he will be here certainly for the foreseeabl­e future.”

He added: “What I do know is he is enjoying his football and playing regularly. Sometimes you forget how young he is – some of the young lads who made their debuts against Morecambe in the week are older than Josh. He’s level-headed though and he recognises that there are certain aspects of his game that he needs to get better at.

“I think he trusts he will get better here, and hopefully that will encourage him to sign. Naturally I am going to say that me as a manager, and my own staff, are the ones who will improve him.

“There are not that many better clubs than us, if any, in terms of everything that goes around it so there are all those things for him to consider as well. But he’s a very polite and humble young man.”

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