Sunderland could now be set to receive a surprising financial windfall after former striker Josh Maja’s Bordeaux got relegated to the French third tier.  

The Lowdown: Maja’s controversial exit

The Nigerian was an academy product at the Stadium of Light and worked his way up the ranks to become an integral part of the Black Cats’ starting XI, but made a controversial exit from the club three years ago, leaving the Wearsiders halfway through a promotion-chasing campaign.

However, it didn’t quite work out for the 23-year-old at Bordeaux, scoring just two goals in 17 league appearances last season, as per Transfermarkt, form that led him to make a return to England to carry out loan spells with both Fulham and Stoke City.

The Latest: Sunderland entitled to profit

In a new article published by the Sunderland Echo on Wednesday morning, it’s claimed that Alex Neil’s side are ‘entitled to 10 percent’ of the profit that the French club make on the sale of Maja, with a permanent departure now highly likely thanks to their relegation to the third tier.

The source further states that an exit ‘could be coming soon’, as Bordeaux have dropped two divisions this summer due to breaches of financial regulations.

The Verdict: Boost for Neil

Having just gained promotion back to the Championship for the first time in four years following their 2-0 play-off final victory against Wycombe, Sunderland will need all of the additional cash that they can get if they want to have a strong chance at staying in their new division.

The second tier is a highly competitive league with some excellent individual players, and the Black Cats could use any extra fees that they receive, like the imminent sale of Maja, to generate some much-needed transfer funds. The striker is valued at £2.7m by Transfermarkt, so a six-figure windfall for Sunderland is to be expected.

Neil will now be getting ready to prepare his squad for their exciting new challenge, and perhaps the money from Maja can be used to offer an increase wage packet to another striker in the shape of Ross Stewart, who is wanted by Rangers and has just 12 months left on his deal.

In other news… Sunderland are reportedly ‘leading’ the race to sign a new goalkeeper this summer.