Best Alternatives to Josh Maja
Players most similar to Josh Maja (Attacker, €1.5M) — ranked by AI DNA similarity score across playing style, pressing intensity, and tactical fit.
Top 3 Alternatives to Josh Maja
- 1.Taiwo Awoniyi 84% DNA match·Nottingham Forest€12.0M
- 2.Raúl Jiménez82% DNA match·Fulham€4.0M
- 3.Lukas Nmecha83% DNA match·Leeds United€10.0M
Ranked by AI DNA similarity — 768 dimensions across playing style, pressing intensity, and tactical fit.
Intelligence Verdict
“Maja is the Championship’s premier connective tissue masquerading as a traditional number nine...”
See Full Verdict + Share Card →Playing Style Analysis
Maja is the Championship’s premier connective tissue masquerading as a traditional number nine, a player whose value lies in the fluency he brings to a front line rather than raw penalty-box predation. While his scoring output of 0.17 per 90 is merely pedestrian, his 81.6% pass accuracy places him in the elite 10% of league forwards, functioning as a high-level fulcrum who facilitates rather than just finishes. The counterintuitive reality of his data is that despite a modest 1.63 shots per 90, he is a creative engine, sitting in the top 20% for key passes and volume of play. The three most similar players to Josh Maja by playing style are:
- Taiwo Awoniyi (84% match) — Awoniyi is the kind of striker who makes a Premier League defence work for every yard — a relentless, physical presence built around disruption as much as destruction. His press intensity ranks in the top 20% among forwards in this league, which tells you something important: this is a striker who hunts, not just waits. The counterintuitive read here is his aerial numbers — 2.43 wins per 90 and an above-average win rate suggest a more dominant aerial threat than his overall duel statistics imply; he picks his battles intelligently in the air, even if ground duels expose him.
- Raúl Jiménez(82% match) — A Target Man. Statistically, he stands out as a capable chance creator (1.0 key passes/90), a constant goal threat (3.0 shots/90), a regular goalscorer (0.38 goals/90) and strong in aerial duels (3.5 aerials won/90).
- Lukas Nmecha(83% match) — A Target Man. Statistically, he stands out as a constant goal threat (2.7 shots/90), a proven goalscorer (0.58 goals/90) and top 10% scorer in the league.
Transfer Intelligence
Taiwo Awoniyi delivers 84% of the same playing style, at a 700% premium over Josh Maja, with 0.83 goals per 90 at age 28. That's 354% of Josh Maja's output in goals per 90 — a credible like-for-like option.
Similarity is calculated using per-90 performance data across multiple playing style dimensions. How Player DNA matching works →
Similar Players — Ranked by DNA Similarity
Ask AI: Why are these players similar?
Our 768-dimension Player DNA model matches playing style, physical profile, pressing intensity, and tactical fit. Ask the AI to explain exactly what makes these players statistically similar to Josh Maja.
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