Time’s up: Corberan must axe West Brom flop who earns more than Palmer & Townsend

After a heroic effort by the Baggies in the first stalemate match, Southampton ran riot in attack back at St. Mary’s, and West Bromwich Albion’s season would finally end in a sad manner as they lost 3-1 over two legs in the Championship Playoffs.

Despite being more of a natural winger, Jed Wallace started as the lone striker for the goal-shy visitors in the second encounter on the South Coast, leaving Carlos Corberan to lament his lack of effective attacking options. The Spaniard benched Brandon Thomas-Asante, who was wasteful.

Therefore, the West Midlands team may prioritize finding a new striker in the summer, which may mean giving up on an injury-prone player and having him miss the playoffs once more.

The tenure of Josh Maja at West Brom

Josh Maja arrived on a free transfer from FC Girondins de Bordeaux last summer, and after lighting up the EFL with Sunderland, there were high expectations for him.

Maja’s clinical edge in front of goal for the Wearsiders as a young player attracted the attention of the Ligue 1 team. He scored 17 goals in 49 games while wearing a Sunderland uniform and added three goals for Fulham after moving on loan from Bordeaux to the Premier League.

However, Maja’s repeated misfortune with injuries that saw him frequently visit the Bordeaux treatment room should have been a red flag for the Baggies that he could potentially collapse.

The 25-year-old, who missed most of 2024 due to an ankle ligament injury, has only scored once in just 12 first-team outings for Corberan’s team when healthy.

obtained from Transfermarkt

Because of this, there might be a temptation to attempt and sell on Maja this summer. His worth, as per Football Transfers, is a healthy £1.6 million, despite extended stretches of inactivity.

Maja’s high salary is another reason why West Brom would want to part ways; according to Capology, the former Sunderland player makes more money than Alex Palmer and Conor Townsend, two players who were essential to the Baggies’ play-off run.

The salary of Maja at West Brom

Despite playing fewer minutes than usual this season, Maja still managed to earn a respectable £17k per week, costing the unsuccessful play-off team £884k in wage expenditures alone in a complete year.

Palmer and Townsend both make less than £10.9k and £11.5k per week, respectively, after making an absurd 94 appearances between them this season under Corberan.

Palmer’s first-leg heroics, when he instinctively saved Ross Stewart’s deflected effort to deny him, made a mountain out of West Brom’s climb on the South Coast. At the very least, the dependable shot-stopper ensured his side maintained a clean sheet.

Townsend played a significant role in the games leading up to the playoffs as well. On the last day of the season, he assisted Darnell Furlong’s goal to secure the Baggies’ place in the top six as the team destroyed Preston North End 3-0.

They may be requesting a pay raise in order to remain employed despite the club’s inability to advance to the Premier League, even if they both still make less than Maja.

As a result, West Brom may decide to unload the former Sunderland striker, marking this free transfer acquisition as a failure.

GET MORE NEWS HERE