West Bromwich Albion fans would not have anticipated the electric start Josh Maja has made to this season whatsoever in the summer, when taking into account his injury-disrupted first campaign at the Hawthorns.
Maja only started one league game all of last season owing to his prolonged spells in the treatment room, with the former Sunderland youth product now a man reborn in the Championship having wriggled free of his injury issues, bagging a ridiculous seven goals from seven clashes.
Carlos Corberan will hope, if his team get there, that the 25-year-old can equally cause defences all sorts of bother in the Premier League, like this striker managed during an impactful stint donning a Baggies strip in the top-flight.
Tony Pulis' perfect signing
Salomon Rondon would have been a purchase that intrigued West Brom fans during their not-so-distant Premier League past when it was first announced, with the Venezuelan centre-forward joining the building from far-out Zenit St. Petersburg to try and help the Baggies cement their place amongst English football’s elite.
A typical Tony Pulis signing – coming in at a towering 6 foot 1 frame with a prowess for bullying defenders – Rondon would be a hit with his new fanbase from the get-go, firing home ten goals in all competitions during his debut season at the club, with his debut goal for his new side actually coming away at Pulis’ ex-employers in Stoke City.
Picked out by a similarly imposing Rickie Lambert to head home, the intimidating Baggies number 33 would be a reliable source of goals for his team over the three seasons he was situated in the West Midlands.
His powers would arguably start to wane towards the end of his spell, with only seven Premier League goals coming his way during the 2017/18 campaign, but those strikes would have at least raised a rare smile that campaign among a depressed fanbase, with the Baggies finishing rock bottom of the division.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom from West Brom’s perspective, however, as relegation meant they could try to cash in on their South American star, with Chinese side Dalian Yifang paying the Baggies £16.5m to win his services in 2019, after he had impressed away from the Hawthorns on loan with Newcastle United.
His short but sweet spell at the Magpies even saw talkSPORT pundit Jim White laud the ex-West Brom number 33 as “unbelievable”, with Rondon helping himself to a healthy goal return of 12 goals from 33 games at St James’ Park.
Regardless, there are no regrets now on West Brom’s end about sanctioning a bumper deal for Rondon to move out to China, with his value now far lower than the much-talked-about £16.5m fee, according to Football Transfers.
Rondon's value in 2024
In 2024, with Rondon becoming somewhat of a globetrotter having played in countries such as Argentina, Mexico and Russia since his days at the Hawthorns, the 35-year-old’s value now stands at a lesser £1.9m.
Dalian certainly dropped the ball when it came to their expensive buy, as Rondon actually exited the Chinese Super League outfit on a free transfer, when Everton came knocking in 2021.
Club played for
Games played
Goals scored
Assists
Dalian
28
14
7
CSKA Moscow
13
4
2
Everton
31
3
1
River Plate
35
10
0
Pachuca
36
21
4
In truth, the 6 foot 1 striker has found it hard to pin down a club to call home since exiting West Brom with more than 100 games under his belt, with his time at the Toffees particularly sticking out as a low point, having only managed a paltry three goals from 31 games.
That might well have contributed to his value decreasing, alongside the fact Rondon is now very much deep into the twilight years of his career now playing for Pachuca.
He is currently shaking off any visible cobwebs for the Mexican side now, with an impressive 21 goals managed from 36 games to date, as Rondon shows there’s life still in his legs.
West Brom did, however, cash in at the best possible time before his value started to decrease, with Rondon still held in high regard to those with Baggies connections today, as the top stars coming through now under Corberan dream of playing in the Premier League.
Left for £16m: West Brom hit gold selling ace who’s now worth millions less
West Bromwich Albion sold this star on at the best possible time.
1 ByKelan Sarson