Forget Jatta: Richard Montague may have pulled off new Notts County masterstroke | OneFootball

Notts County may have unearthed a real gem in Luka Smyth, who could make fans forget Alassana Jatta pretty quickly

It's never ideal when you're unable to retain some of your better players despite promotion, and at Notts County, the loss of Alassana Jatta will definitely hurt.

Magpies boss Martin Paterson is already in the process of finding out who will fill the void left by both Tom Iorpenda and Jayden Luker, following the loan duo's impact in the attacking midfield roles in their promotion campaign from League Two last season.

But now he has to go into the new campaign with a new frontman, too, after Jatta departed Meadow Lane in a switch to Primeira Liga side Casa Pia. That new striker, though, could prove to be a real coup, arriving as a massive unknown from the Finnish top flight.

Alassana Jatta's departure will be a big disappointment for Notts County

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This time last season, interest in Jatta was rife further up the EFL, and understandably so. The Gambian frontman had just netted 21 times in all competitions in his first full year at Notts County, and his 19 League Two strikes placed him second in the Golden Boot race.

FLW at the time reported that Bolton Wanderers were amongst the sides looking to bring the 27-year-old to League One, and with the way Jatta ended the 2024/25 campaign, a departure looked inevitable.

The towering frontman ended the season in disgrace, red-carded and handed a lengthy ban for a subsequent scuffle in the play-off semi-final first-leg defeat against AFC Wimbledon, which took him out of the first five games of last term.

He stuck around, though, despite all signs pointing to him leaving, and he made up for the previous year, netting 14 times in 31 League Two outings and starring in their play-off final win over Salford City, scoring the opener in the 3-0 win over the Ammies.

Now, Jatta had League One football, and Notts fans throughout the campaign were back onside.

But the lure of playing top-flight football in Portugal has been too great, and the Magpies have lost yet another one of their promotion heroes because of that, which will be a bitter disappointment, even if the main reaction was wishing him well following the switch.

Notts County have turned to a "big threat" from the Finnish league to replace Alassana Jatta

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All eyes will be on who will step up and take the goalscoring mantle from Jatta, after he departed Meadow Lane with 44 goals in 89 total appearances for Notts County, just shy of a goal every other game.

Perhaps Australian frontman Luka Smyth could be that man. Standing at six-foot-four, the 22-year-old has a similar frame to Jatta, so he could slot into Martin Paterson's playing style pretty comfortably.

Smyth arrives from Finnish top-flight side VPS, where he scored 11 times in 31 outings. Before that, he played youth football for Sydney FC and Central Coast Mariners in his native Australia.

He scored 11 times in just four outings for the VPS second team during the 2024 campaign, and was promoted to first-team affairs the year after, but really came into his own in the ongoing Veikkausliga season, netting seven in 14 games.

Speaking following his arrival, Notts County's director of football, Richard Montague, said, "Luke has a very interesting profile, standing at six-foot-four, but also being very strong in his pressing and comfortable with the ball at his feet.

"He arrives having enjoyed a breakthrough season in Finland, in which he's been a big threat both in terms of his goals and all-around play.

"We believe he can carry that momentum into the new season and, with him still being so young, we see a lot of development potential in him."

Luka Smyth could make Notts County fans forget Alassana Jatta pretty quickly

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When Notts County brought Jatta to the EFL in January 2024, he was a big unknown quantity, having spent close to five years in Denmark with Viborg, only scoring 25 times in 105 games.

The 27-year-old adapted almost immediately in League Two, though, and was a goal-scoring threat who led the Magpies back to the third tier for the first time since the 2014/15 campaign.

There'll be some hope amongst the higher-ups at Notts that Smyth can follow in those footsteps and really hit the ground running in League One, not only to replace the goals they've lost with Jatta's departure, but also to prove their scouting network, while unconventional, is still strong.

And, if he does, the 22-year-old has plenty of room to grow and improve under Martin Paterson, which could present a good opportunity to make a healthy profit as and when he moves on.

Only time will tell whether Smyth can be that Jatta replacement. With the demand for goals at a higher level, he could be the difference between Notts staying up or not in their first season back in League One.