Notts County facing Alassana Jatta transfer dilemma as top flight club register interest | OneFootball

The striker is looking to move away from Meadow Lane.

Notts County's star centre-forward Alassana Jatta wants to move on from the club after having his head turned by Portuguese outfit Casa Pia.

The 26-year-old Gambian striker was a brilliant find by the League Two side in the winter window of 2024, bringing him in from Danish side Viborg FF, and he immediately displayed his potential.

Jatta only got five goals from 10 appearances in his first half-season with the Magpies. It was his first full season - 2024/25 - that really caught the eye, keeping up his rough 50 per cent scoring rate per game by finding the back of the net 19 times in 39 games played.

Alassana Jatta looking for a way out of Notts County

His time with Notts may be coming to an end, though, as The Guardian have reported that he is having his head turned by opportunities elsewhere.

Three teams are trying to sign the Gambian international, according to the national outlet, one of them being Portuguese side Casa Pia. The other two clubs' identities are unknown, but one of them is from Turkey and the other is in League One, as per The Guardian's report.

He didn't go with the club on their pre-season tour of Germany due to visa issues. With no shortage of clubs that would like to have him in their team, Jatta reportedly wants to test himself at a higher level.

Notts had the opportunity to play at a higher level next season when they finished inside the top seven of the fourth tier last term. They faced AFC Wimbledon in the play-off semi-finals for a chance to play for a spot in League One at Wembley available for the victors.

Stuart Maynard's side were down 1-0 at Meadow Lane late in the first leg when Jatta put in a reckless challenge that got him sent off and eventually suspended for their remaining games, massively hindering the club's chances of winning the post-season competition.

They ended up losing 1-0 again in the second leg to the Wombles, who went on to beat Walsall at the home of English football, securing their return to League One.

Notts County have to be prepared to take swift Alassana Jatta action

Notts have already lost one key attacking option this summer with the departure of David McGoldrick.

He turned down the chance to return for another season with the club and has since linked up with his old Derby County teammate Conor Hourihane, who is now in charge of Barnsley.

He left as a free agent, so County got no compensation for his departure. At least with Jatta, who has just less than a year left on his deal with the club, they should be able to make some decent money from him if he were to leave.

They do have a slight lack of leverage, though, because this time next summer he will be free to choose whichever club he wants to sign for. If he is determined to take that next step in his career, Notts have to be willing to act fast, get as much money for him as possible, and try to reinvest it as well as possible.

There's not much point in trying to keep a player around that doesn't want to be there. And it's not like previous times when they would have to grin and bear it and keep turning up for the team. The modern player will take action into their own hands if they want a move away from their current club that badly.

Notts can't let it get to that point. If they feel like they will have to sell him, his value will never be higher, so it's better to pull the trigger sooner rather than later.