Rangers have been handed a major boost in their reported pursuit of Josh Maja as Ligue 2 side Bordeaux slip up in their hunt for promotion.
Les Girondins slipped to third in the French second flight heading into the final game of the season courtesy of a shock 1-0 defeat to Annecy which leaves their promotion hopes hanging by a thread.
Josh Maja played the entire game for Bordeaux but drew a blank to allow Metz – who beat 10-man Sochaux 1-0 over the weekend – to overtake them in second courtesy of a superior goal difference.
With Ligue 1 reducing from 20 to 18 teams, only two sides will be promoted from the second tier this season, with the previous playoff system in France now scrapped.
It all means that Bordeaux (Rodez at home) will have to better the Metz (Bastia at home) result or win by a margin of at least four goals more than their promotion rivals on the final day.
Bordeaux’s Josh Maja contract option hopes may hinge on promotion
Rangers fans who have been following those Ibrox links to Maja will have one eye on what happens in France, with Bordeaux’s promotion reportedly central to any Ibrox pursuit.
Reports have claimed that, in the event of promotion, Bordeaux have the option of another year with Maja, who is out of contract come the summer as things stand.
Linked to Rangers during his time in Sunderland in 2019, Maja is a player who is well known to Michael Beale and would bring decent striking pedigree to the Rangers team.
Once highly-rated down south, perhaps Ibrox can be the home that the striker needs to flourish and, at 24-years-old, the English-born Nigerian striker is a good age to come to Glasgow.
Rangers have been relatively coy on the striker position heading into the summer, with not much being given away from inside the club.
There have been several links, with Maja probably the most prominent, although links to Greek international Tasos Douvikas continue to intensify.
Maja has also previously been directly asked about those links to Rangers, with the Bordeaux striker saying “I can’t think about that at the moment”.
Ex-Black Cats striker Maja has netted 16 league goals this season as he fights to fire Bordeaux back to Ligue 1.
