West Brom struck gold on star who is now worth more than Mowatt & Johnston

West Bromwich Albion supporters will be hoping that Carlos Corberan‘s successor is found soon, after the successful Spaniard surprisingly joined Valencia on Christmas Eve.

A move back to his native country proved to be too alluring, but you wouldn’t have noticed his absence whatsoever in West Brom’s last win in the Championship, as three strikes in the first half for the Baggies proved to be enough to beat Preston North End 3-1.

Whoever is next handed the reins to start the post-Corberan era will know they have inherited a team that is good enough to seal promotion up to the Premier League, with a number of standout individuals shining.

Key West Brom players this season

There are many players in the current Baggies camp who wouldn’t look out of place lining up for a top-flight outfit, with Tom Fellows coming to mind in that regard.

After all, Everton have been noted as an interested party keeping tabs on the daring winger this January, as the homegrown product has already amassed 11 goal contributions this season in league action.

Moreover, Karlan Grant has also chipped in with six goals as another menace in attack, whilst the defence has remained resolute and stern off the back of Torbjørn Heggem being an absolute revelation, having now kept ten clean sheets in the Championship since joining last year.

There are also the likes of Alex Mowatt and Mikey Johnston in the camp who have a knack of coming up trumps in important moments for their side, with Johnston assisting the Baggies’ crucial second strike on New Year’s Day, whilst the ex-Leeds United midfielder – when he isn’t out with an injury – has four goals and two assists to shout about in the league.

But, there is one face that hasn’t been mentioned yet that the next Baggies boss will surely love working with the most, with his transfer value now soaring off the back of his frequent goalscoring heroics.

Josh Maja’s importance at West Brom

Way out ahead as the West Midlands club’s top scorer this season in the Championship with an unbelievable 12 strikes, the free transfer decision to bring in Josh Maja to the building back in August 2023 continues to look like a masterstroke.

Indeed, the ex-Sunderland man is the only face in the second tier side’s camp that can boast double digits in terms of goals, leading to reports suggesting that the likes of AFC Bournemouth, Ipswich Town and Southampton are all eyeing up the potent Nigerian this January.

Already doubling his amount of games from last season – when injuries, unfortunately, got the better of the deadly attacker – it’s clear that the Baggies’ patience has paid off in this example, with his transfer value only coming in at £2.8m last December according to Transfermarkt.

Now, he’s worth around £7m more – amid a reported €12m (£10m) price tag – which means the dependable West Brom number nine is actually worth more than both Mowatt and Johnston combined, despite their reliable reputations in the Baggies camp too.

Johnston was picked up last year permanently for just £3m, which again shows off West Brom’s knack of being able to land a bargain, whilst Mowatt’s value – when looking at Transfermarkt once more – stands at just £2.8m.

Whoever is gifted the Baggies vacancy will know it’s crucial to keep Maja situated at the Hawthorns past this January, but if a £10m bid was to actually come the way of the promotion candidates, it might well prove to be too tantalising to turn down.

Whilst losing Corberan would have been a sucker punch, the present can still be bright, especially if Maja remains to try and fire his team to promotion.

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