"Not saying go back in for Macaulay Langstaff" - Notts County: January demand made to Reedtz brothers | OneFootball

Football League World's Notts County fan pundit outlines a transfer demand Stuart Maynard should make during the January window

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Notts County are vying for a League Two play-off spot just two seasons after being promoted back to the fourth tier from the National League.

Stuart Maynard's men had been going well and enjoyed a five-game unbeaten run in the league which spanned the majority of October and early November, but a 2-0 defeat at the hands of automatic promotion hopefuls Crewe Alexandra on 16th November spelled the beginning of a poor run of form.

But with the January transfer window just around the corner, Football League World asked our Magpies fan pundit, Thomas Wagstaff, what transfer demand he expects Maynard will issue in January.

Notts County fan pundit outlines transfer demand

Thomas said: "I'm not sure whether we will issue a transfer demand, purely because we're in a very unique situation, where there's about, a good six or seven players looking to come back in January.

"We've had a full squad for maybe three games this season, and that was the first three games.

"We had a fans' forum not that long ago at Meadow Lane, and they sort of said, the recruitment side said, 'We'll be looking to see what the players that come back bring to the side'.

"Curtis Edwards, Conor Grant, Jodi Jones, Dan Crowley, they all still need to come back, they'll all be like new signings.

"But if you were to say to Stuart Maynard, 'What do you need?' - I think we need a back-up striker that offers something different.

"I'm not saying go back in for a player like Macaulay Langstaff, or we miss Macaulay Langstaff, but I think you want to be looking at a player that could just help us a little bit, maybe a bit of pace in behind, maybe he'll take a few players on."

As alluded to by Thomas, perhaps the Magpies' main concern ahead of January is witnessing the returns of their currently injured stars, rather than buying new talent.

Most notably, Malta international Jones has been nursing a fractured shin since September, meaning that Maynard's side have lacked their usual creative spark.

Last term, he produced an English record total of 24 assists in League Two, so it is clear to see the sort of clinical edge the Magpies are missing in the final third amid the 27-year-old's absence.

Crowley's spell on the sidelines has clearly negatively affected County too and he had notched three goals and three assists in 12 appearances prior to his injury.

However, as the Magpies look to bolster their play-off push, they will also need to recruit fresh talent to join the club, while a backup striker, as suggested by Thomas, could help ease the goalscoring load away from Alassana Jatta and veteran David McGoldrick.