Macaulay Langstaff back to Notts County? It should happen | OneFootball

Notts County should make Macaulay Langstaff one of their first summer signings after their return to League One

Notts County secured promotion back to League One after 11 years away, following their convincing 3-0 win over Salford City in the fourth tier's play-off final on Monday.

The Magpies have been on a real journey since that third-tier relegation in 2015, falling out of the EFL altogether for four years from 2019, and they've had their fair share of play-off heartaches and promotion near-misses since then.

Therefore, their moment in the Wembley sun was much deserved, and Martin Paterson deserves a lot of credit for maintaining Notts' play-off credentials, after some critics felt that they'd fall away after a sixth-place finish last season under Stuart Maynard.

Understandably, there'll be a lot of celebrations taking place on that side of Nottingham over the coming days and weeks, but it won't be long until preparations for their third-tier return have to take centre stage.

And there'd be no better way to kick off the player recruitment side of that preparation than by orchestrating the return of someone who made a name for himself in the EFL by scoring goals at Meadow Lane.

Notts County should swoop for Macaulay Langstaff this summer

It's been two years since Notts bid farewell to their back-to-back top scorer from their promotion campaign back to the EFL and then in their first season back in League Two. In those two domestic terms, Langstaff netted a combined 69 goals.

Understandably, the then 27-year-old was destined for a move further up the pyramid, but many expected a top-end League One team to snap him up. As it happened, he'd end up moving to the Championship, as Millwall parted with a reported £700,000 for his services.

The Lions had just come off the back of a 13th-placed finish under Neil Harris, so not many people expected them to be a play-off chasing, and then automatic promotion-hunting side under Alex Neil in the two seasons that followed, but because of that, it has led Langstaff to be used sparingly in both years.

The 29-year-old has still made 71 Championship appearances, but only 26 of those have been starts. Further, 10 of the 26 were under Harris, so since Neil arrived at the Den, the frontman has been a clear squad player.

He still managed four goals this past season, which shows that his goalscoring knack is still there in the limited amount of time he gets on the pitch.

But after finishing third this season, Millwall are almost definitely going to add more quality to their squad to either maintain that play-off place or go one further and secure a top-two position, which would push Langstaff further down the pecking order.

Perhaps this summer is the time when he drops to League One, and where better than to do it than back at Notts County?

Macaulay Langstaff still loves Notts County — a move back would be a no-brainer

Notts County fans were pleased to see Langstaff in attendance at Wembley on Monday to watch them prevail over Salford and reach League One, as he posted on his Instagram story of him sitting in the stands.

Evidently, the 29-year-old is still a fan of the club and still appreciates them for giving him a platform in the EFL to show his quality and earn his move to the Championship.

Therefore, a move back would seemingly be one that both parties would pursue, and an incoming Langstaff could even fill in some holes that departing loan players may open up.

The forward has been playing predominantly as an attacking midfielder behind the striker at Millwall this season. With both Tom Iorpenda and Jayden Luker both on loan from League One clubs, there's a high likelihood that both will be playing bigger roles at Huddersfield Town and Luton Town, respectively, next term.

So, a move for Langstaff would help maintain that attacking threat behind Alassana Jatta, without forcing Martin Paterson to drop him, as he's been widely regarded as one of the more third-tier-ready strikers in League Two over the past couple of seasons.

With Notts County set to be battling hard to stay in a competitive League One in 2026/27, bringing in someone from a Championship club, and especially someone who has the goalscoring pedigree of Langstaff, would be a good indication that they're here to stay.