Sunderland owner Stewart Donald delivered a blow to Tottenham’s hopes of signing Josh Maja after revealing on Twitter that the striker “has said he wants to stay” and hopes to agree a contract extension before Christmas.
Spurs have been linked with a £10m move for the in-form centre-forward who is setting League One alight this season. With Vincent Janssen injured and Fernando Llorente struggling for form and playing time, signing Maja wouldn’t be a terrible option as backup to Harry Kane.
The 19-year-old has scored 11 goals in 18 league games and is out of contract next summer. Interest from the Premier League could lure Maja away from the Stadium of Light, but Donald is confident that the striker wants to stay and could commit his future in the form of a new deal.
We are making progress. Josh has said he wants to stay so we r just trying to finalise details. We all want it sorted soon and we will give an update before Xmas
— stewart donald (@stewartdonald3) December 14, 2018
He wants to stay also and again I think an Xmas update but very hopeful these lads will commit their future to the club ????????⚪️????⚪️
— stewart donald (@stewartdonald3) December 14, 2018
Signing a backup striker isn’t top of the priorities lies for Mauricio Pochettino, but Maja may well be worth it. He joined Sunderland from Manchester City in 2015 and has racked up 43 appearances in all competitions. If a new contract isn’t signed by January, however, Sunderland might be forced to cash in.
Crippy Cooke’s previous article
Tottenham won’t sign English right-winger ‘attracting Premier League attention’ – opinion