My Notts County transfer deadline day dream unsurprisingly involves Alassana Jatta | OneFootball

Here's what an ideal weekend in the market could look like for Notts, ahead of Monday's deadline.

With Monday’s transfer deadline on the horizon, Notts County will want to ensure they complete their final couple of key objectives for the winter window.

It’s been a mixed month for the Magpies in the market, with some interesting young additions offset by the potentially pivotal departure of Dan Crowley.

A strong run of form over the Christmas and New Year period has left Stuart Maynard’s side in a fantastic position to go and potentially finish in an automatic promotion spot. Although Maynard admitted in his press conference on Friday that there would still likely be one or two additions before the deadline, Notts have the luxury of knowing that they are going into the closing days of the window with the vast majority of their work already done.

With the way the last couple of weeks have panned out at Meadow Lane, this weekend has become far more about keeping hold of one of the club’s most important players than it is adding more to the squad. With that in mind, here are two things that would wrap up an ideal, but also realistic deadline day for Notts.

Notts keep hold of Alassana Jatta

It’s testament to Notts’ recent recruitment work that they have had several incredibly talented players over the last few seasons.

Naturally, this draws the attention of other clubs, and we’ve already seen the Magpies take the likes of Macaulay Langstaff, Kyle Wootton and Ruben Rodrigues and give them a platform to showcase their ability and progress their careers.

The latest man to catch the eye of clubs higher up the pyramid has been Alassana Jatta.

Last week, it was reported by The Guardian that Notts had knocked back a bid of £750,000 from the Championship’s bottom club, Plymouth Argyle. Notts were understood to be holding out for a seven-figure fee for their top scorer, with Portsmouth and Bolton Wanderers also keen on the Gambian.

Somewhat surprisingly, a higher offer is yet to come through, meaning Jatta looks increasingly likely to remain at Meadow Lane after Monday’s deadline.

The frontman has become an absolutely vital component of Maynard’s side this term. As well as being one of the division’s top scorers with 13 league goals, Jatta’s unique profile means he brings vital pace and physicality to the Notts attack.

He plays a huge role in Notts’ ability to vary their play and go more direct when needed, something which has been a key part of their improvement this term.

Signed from Danish Superliga side Viborg as the replacement for Langstaff last January, Jatta has taken to English football incredibly well and has already become one of League Two’s most dangerous strikers.

If a late offer in excess of £1million is to come in for Jatta, it would be another welcome example of Notts making an obscure signing and then flipping significant profit on them within the space of a year or two.

However, the key in this situation is that Jatta is worth far more to Notts than any financial gain at present. He is vital to the Magpies’ promotion ambitions and, if they were to lose him, it would be far too late to adequately replace him.

Notts have already lost one key player this winter in Crowley, they simply cannot afford to lose another.

If Jatta stays at Meadow Lane until the end of the season, he will likely end the campaign with over 20 league goals and could potentially become a League One footballer with Notts. Both of those possibilities would further increase his transfer value and open up more doors to him in terms of clubs.

Fans up and down the country love to see their clubs making signings late on in the window, but given how much losing Jatta would knock Notts’ chances of promotion back to the third tier, this really is far and away the most important element of this weekend for Notts.

Finalise the loan signing of Michael Reindorf

While ensuring there are no more outgoings is comfortably the Magpies’ top priority, in an ideal world they could also do with a late addition to their attacking ranks.

It was reported earlier in the week by Pete O'Rourke of Football Insider that Notts had won the race to sign Cardiff City striker Michael Reindorf on loan until the end of the season.

Strangely, we are still awaiting official confirmation from Notts, prompting suggestions from fans that a late issue with the deal may have arisen.

The midweek victory over Carlisle United once again highlighted the Magpies’ need for another option in the final third. Jatta looked exhausted in the latter stages and eventually had to be replaced, which left Notts with no one capable of getting in behind the opposition defences and working the channels in the closing minutes.

As a result, every time Maynard’s men cleared their lines up to halfway, the ball simply kept coming back, leading to them having to face more pressure than they perhaps should have in stoppage time.

Reindorf’s CV is perhaps not the most inspiring on the face of it, but given the quality provided by Jatta and David McGoldrick, Notts don’t really need someone to come in and set the world alight.

If Reindorf can bring pace and energy in the latter stages of games, and help the Magpies remain a threat from start to finish, he will be an ideal addition to the squad, even if he is not the world’s most glamourous signing.