da marjack bet： Ralph Hasenhuttl can continue his Southampton regeneration project with the signing of Sunderland star Josh Maja.
What’s the word?
da dobrowin： The Black Cats star is key to events at the Stadium of Light, as Sunderland aim to work their way back into the Championship after a cataclysmic decline from the Premier League in 2017.
Before the turn of 2019, the 20-year-old was not only the club’s top goalscorer with 13 goals in 22 appearances – more than double the tally of second-placed Aiden McGeady – but also League One’s second-top goalscorer.
But Maja’s contribution has put the northeast outfit on edge more than ever as he is yet to commit his future to the club.
The centre-forward, valued by TransferMarkt at £225k has now entered the final months of his current contract, which is set to expire in June, forcing Sunderland to hand their star player an ultimatum.
Jack Ross, the Black Cats boss, has informed Maja that if he does not commit his future to the club by the end of the first week of January, they will look to sell the Lewisham-born ace to prevent losing his services for nothing more than a compensation fee in the summer.
Check out the video below for Emma Conybeare’s rundown of which clubs need what in the January transfer window…
Proving his faith in young talent
Since taking charge at St Mary’s Stadium, Hasenhuttl could easily have opted to turn to proven strikers like Charlie Austin and Shane Long to move the Saints away from the relegation zone ahead of youth players.
Hasenhuttl, though, has treated the younger stars at Southampton as first-team options from the off, seeing 18-year-old Michael Obafemi net his first senior goal – coming in a 3-1 win at Huddersfield.
Kayne Ramsay also made his senior debut in December, featuring for the entire 90 minutes when Manchester City came to the south coast looking to regain form in their title defence.
Maja may have only just found his taste for goals in League One – the 20-year-old netted a single effort in 17 Championship outings as Sunderland were relegated last season – but the confidence he can bring from his current vein of form should tempt Hasenhuttl into believing he could be good enough for Southampton.
The Saints could certainly do with another striker joining in January, with Danny Ings the only forward with more goals than midfield duo Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Stuart Armstrong.