Notts County are preparing for a promotion push in League Two next season.
The Magpies reached the play-offs in the previous campaign with a sixth place finish, but their hopes of a League One return were dashed.
A play-off semi-final defeat to AFC Wimbledon means they are now looking forward to a third campaign in a row in the fourth division.
The summer represents the League Two side with a chance to improve Martin Peterson’s squad ahead of their fight for a top three place in the table.
| Madou Cisse – Notts County league goals and appearances (per Fbref.com) | ||||
| Season | Appearances (Starts) | Goals (Assists) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 1 (0) | 0 | ||
| 2024-25 | 2 (1) | 0 | ||
Madou Cisse loan claim
When asked which player in the squad should be loaned out this summer, FLW’s Notts County fan pundit Gareth Parr named Madou Cisse.
He believes that the 20-year-old could benefit from time in the lower divisions until he gets big enough to compete at a League Two level.
“Notts have had some great youngsters come through over the years,” Parr told Football League World.
“People like Ryley Reynolds and James Sanderson have gone on to have really promising loan spells and have come back to Notts County and I think will find themselves more and more in the first team this season.
Nottingham Forest never saw the best of midfielder Jorge Grant, but he starred during a loan spell at Notts County.
“One player that is truly homegrown is Madou Cisse, he spent most of last season on the bench, I think because of league rules and there needing to be so many homegrown players.
“I think he would really benefit from going away and getting some first team football, especially as he starts to grow.
“He’s shown some potential and on-the-ball skills, composure, but currently he’s just too small for League Two and is quite easily bullied off in a lot of the cup ties that he did actually get on the pitch.
“So I think he would really benefit from a prolonged spell away at somewhere like Kidderminster or Gateshead, where they can look to develop him.
“And as he matures and gets stronger I think he could potentially then be a great fit when he comes back.”
Notts County will begin their season on 2 August with a trip to face Newport County.
Madou loan makes sense for Notts County
Madou could use the experience of a short-term loan to get regular minutes in order to better adapt to the physicality of the senior game.
He’s not quite ready to compete in League Two for the Magpies, so going out for a few months to somewhere like Gateshead could be quite beneficial.
If he can have a strong start to the season while on loan, then he could come back midway through the campaign and see if he’s bulked up enough to play at this level.
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