New West Brom head coach facing Josh Maja transfer concern as Chelsea circle | OneFootball

The Premier League giants are reportedly interested in the striker after an excellent first half of the season.

West Bromwich Albion's season started excellently, and under the guidance of Carlos Corberan they set the pace early on.

The goals of Josh Maja helped the Baggies to keep with what is now the runaway top four for a number of weeks, but a run of 10 draws in 11 matches saw them drop off the pace and back towards those fighting for a play-off place.

The departure of their Spanish manager at the end of December has threatened to derail their season further, but they remain in contention for a top six finish.

However, West Brom's top scorer is now being targeted by Premier League giants Chelsea, and whoever who comes in to take on the role of head coach at The Hawthorns will have an incredibly difficult task at hand to keep hold of him.

Incoming head coach will find it hard to keep Maja with the Baggies

Maja started the campaign in explosive form for the Baggies, and he scored seven goals in the first seven games of the season. He has slowed down in front of goal since then, but he has still fired in 12 times over the course of 26 matches.

He has been a real bright spark for West Brom, and without him, they would have struggled to keep pace with those in the fight for the top six.

But, with good performances comes interest, and that has come in the form of Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, as per Fichajes.

Without a manager or head coach in place, it will be incredibly difficult to keep hold of the 26-year-old if an approach is made, and there is not currently a clear direction that the club is heading in. There will be a huge frustration that talks with Raphaël Wicky have ended, and it may give Maja further desire to move on.

While Maja still has plenty of time left in his career to get his big transfer, the promise of that happening in the near future will only spur him on more, and the chance of playing for one of England's biggest clubs is an opportunity that he will not want to miss.

Therefore, whoever takes over at The Hawthorns must instantly find a way to keep hold of the striker until the end of the season at the very least.

The step-up to the Premier League will be a big one for Maja

The opportunity that Maja may have upon him will be too difficult to turn down, but there will be questions over whether he is ready for the step-up yet.

He has scored over 10 goals in just three league seasons so far in his career, including this one, with one of those coming in League One with Sunderland. This inconsistency will be a worry for those clubs who have him on his radar, and a move will be a risk.

However, football careers are short, and Maja will jump at the opportunity to play in one of Europe's top leagues, especially if West Brom do not find a solution to their managerial situation quickly.