Bolton Wanderers and Bradford City must try hijack £425k Notts County striker bid | OneFootball

Bolton Wanderers and Bradford City should aim to hijack Horsens' move for Notts County striker Alassana Jatta.

Despite their promotion from League Two last season, Notts County are in danger of losing star man Alassana Jatta in this summer’s transfer window.

Under the management of Martin Paterson, Notts County gained promotion to League One via the League Two play-offs, defeating Salford City by three goals to nil at Wembley Stadium in May.

The Magpies had narrowly missed out on the top three and the automatic promotion spots on the final day of last season, a year after losing to eventual play-off winners AFC Wimbledon in the play-off semi-finals.

In the second-leg of that semi-final defeat to Wimbledon, star striker Alassana Jatta was sent off but, having been rehabilitated back into the squad and within the fanbase, the Gambian marksman returned to help fire County to play-off glory in May.

Jatta finished the 2025-26 season as Notts County’s top scorer in League Two, hitting 16 goals before netting their first in the defeat of Salford in the play-off final.

Now, though, Jatta is the subject of a raid from Danish Superliga outfit Horsens for a fee believed to be in the region of £425,000 – a move that both Bolton Wanderers and Bradford City should be interested in.

2 ? ? Bolton should take a punt on Alassana Jatta

Having previously been linked with a move for Jatta while in League One about 18 months or so ago, renewed interest from Bolton would make sense this summer.

There would be some natural scepticism from Bolton supporters if they were to target a player that has never played above League Two level in England – but Jatta has shown he is a level above the fourth-tier and Wanderers must be tempted to take a punt.

Steven Schumacher has already explained that Bolton are content with the business that they have done, strengthening their defence with the additions of Ben Davies, Akin Famewo and Luca Stephenson, as well as in midfield with David Watson.

They have brought in winger Kyliane Dong on loan from Augsburg but Schumacher has stated that their next priority should be to further reinforce the attack, especially after the departures of loanees Marcus Forss, Amario Cozier-Duberry, Rob Apter, Corey Blackett-Taylor, Ibrahim Cissoko, Mason Burstow and Johnny Kenny.

Kenny is the subject of interest from Bolton once again, alongside Millwall, while Forss has been training with The Whites to help his fitness on their pre-season trip to Slovakia.

The Whites are expected to use the bulk of their budget on a couple of marquee attackers but Jatta would massively help fill a whole as a cost-effective option, even if the intention was to simply use him as an option and initially be viewed as a squad player.

Bolton need quality in the final third, having gained promotion to the Championship via the League One play-offs last season, but they also need numbers and Jatta, for the price and with his scoring expertise, would be a more than useful addition to bulk out their squad.

1 ? ? Alassana Jatta could be the missing piece for Bradford

Having gained promotion from League Two in the 2024-25 season, Bradford brought in some experienced players last summer to be competitive in League One – and that was very much the case.

Under the management of Graham Alexander, Bradford finished fourth in the League One table, eventually beaten by Bolton in the play-off semi-finals.

City will feel that just a couple of quality additions this summer could change the game for them as they seek to go again and perhaps even target the top two and the automatic promotion spots in the third-tier this time around.

A naturally conservative and functional style, Bradford lacked an efficiency and quality in the final third that eventually undermined them, perhaps best shown by the fact that veteran midfielder Antoni Sarcevic finished up as their top scorer with 11 goals.

Jatta, who has struck 44 goals in just 89 games for Notts County since arriving at Meadow Lane in January 2024, would provide those much-needed finishing expertise for City and would also be regarded as a statement signing to poach from another League One club.

Having sold Jenson Metcalfe to Millwall earlier this summer, The Bantams have already brought in Jake Beesley, Adam Phillips, Macaulay Gillesphey and Henry Cartwright for undisclosed fees but if there is any room for another purchase then Jatta would be the ideal signing, especially to partner Beesley up-front.