Josh Maja

Maja was not offered a scholarship by Manchester City and in March 2015, Fulham reached an agreement with Sunderland for him to sign a two-year scholarship. [ 7 ] In May 2016, he signed his first professional contract with the club, penning a three-year deal. [ 5 ] On 21 September 2016, Maja made his professional debut in a 2–1 victory at Queens Park Rangers in the third round of the EFL Cup , replacing Joel Asoro as a substitute for the final 21 minutes. [ 8 ] He did not play again that season but did appear on the bench during their Premier League campaign, which ended in relegation. [ 9 ] Maja made his league debut on 16 December 2017, when he came on for James Vaughan at the Stadium of Light , going on to score his side's only goal of the match five minutes subsequently; the game resulted in Sunderland's first home win of 2017 and against Fulham , his former team during his youth. Manager Chris Coleman spoke positively of Maja afterwards, stating, "I've been very impressed with Josh. He's different, he gives us a big injection of personality". [ 10 ] Maja went on to make 17 appearances in the Championship that season, failing to score anymore following his goal against Fulham, [ 11 ] with the club suffering a second consecutive relegation, now to League One . [ 12 ] Relegation proved well personally for Maja, as he broke into the side's starting line-up; he went on to score in all of Sunderland's first four games in August, earning him a nomination for Player of the Month . [ 13 ] With his contract due to expire at the end of the season, he was offered a contract extension, though he refused, amid reported interest from multiple clubs. [ 14 ] His transfer saga was featured as part of the Netflix documentary Sunderland 'Til I Die . [ 15 ] Maja went on to leave the club during the January transfer window, at the time, Maja had scored 16 goals in 30 league appearances. [ 16 ] — Wikipedia