Ex-Wycombe Wanderers defender turned EFL pundit Joe Jacobson has offered his verdict on whether Notts County could struggle to retain the likes of star men Alassana Jatta and Jodi Jones if they fail to gain promotion to League One this season.
County currently sit sixth in the fourth-tier of English football, and are on track to finish inside the play-offs with six points separating them and eighth-placed Colchester United and only five games of the regular season left to play.
Stuart Maynard’s side have been in-and-around the automatic promotion places for the majority of the campaign, but their inconsistent recent form has seen them lose some ground on the top three, with just three wins from their previous nine league outings.
The Magpies boast a stellar squad for League Two, and will be fearful of the future of their key players this summer if they are unable to seal promotion to the third-tier, with the likes of Jatta and Jones surely set to be on the radar of higher-placed clubs.
Joe Jacobson offers Alassana Jatta and Jodi Jones summer transfer verdicts
Gambian international striker Jatta signed for County from Danish Superliga side Viborg last February, and he had an almost instant impact as he registered five goals and two assists in 10 league appearances for his new club in the second-half of the campaign.
He has kicked on even further this term with time and patience from the supporters at Meadow Lane, and he has been one of League Two’s leading marksmen with 17 strikes in 34 league appearances so far. He was linked with a move away in January, but remained with the Magpies and has continued to net relatively regularly.
Jodi Jones has been at County since an initial loan move from Oxford United in January 2023 while the club were in the National League. He wrote himself into club folklore that season with a key role in their promotion back to the fourth-tier, and was one of the best players in League Two last season as he notched five goals and 23 assists in 43 league games.
The Maltese international winger has struggled with injury and form issues this season, but both him and Jatta could be on the move this summer if the Magpies are unable to reach League One through the play-offs or automatically, due to their clear abilities and potential to play at a higher level.
Speaking exclusively to Football League World, ex-Wycombe defender turned EFL pundit Joe Jacobson believes that Jones may well want to stay at Meadow Lane past this summer, due to his connection to the club, but Maynard’s side may need to get promoted to have a chance of retaining Jatta’s services.
“I think, like any teams that do well in League Two, especially, and a little bit in League One as well, your top players, unless you get promoted, will be looked at,” Jacobson told FLW.
“Because players are always on one or two-year contracts, it’s very difficult to tie them down for a long period of time, and to stop them moving on if you do get an offer.
“Jodi Jones did fantastically well up until his injury. He was incredible. His numbers for assists last year and at the start of this season were incredible, but he has had injury problems over the years and I think that’s where some teams may not want to touch him, because of that.
“For him, if he is in a place where he is happy and he is loved, they know they can get the best out of him, I feel like Notts County is probably the best place for him at the minute.
“With Alassana Jatta, again, they brought him in without anyone else wanting to give him a chance. He’s done fantastically well.
“He’s a handful, he’s big, strong, he’s quick, he can finish. The relationship between him and David McGoldrick has been great this season.
“If you’re going to score a lot of goals at that level, then teams are going to be interested, but I think that’s for Notts County. If they do get promoted, then I think they have got a great chance of keeping hold of both of them.”
Jatta and Jones have each been linked away – County will want to keep hold of both
As Jacobson alluded to, it is always tough for any lower-league club to keep hold of their best players when they are not progressing up the leagues on a consistent basis.
County established themselves well back in League Two last season, with a 14th-placed finish, and they have been able to build on it this term with a push for promotion, but the nature of the game could mean that they have to sell one of their key men soon if an offer that is too good to refuse comes their way.
They have been able to refuse any interest in the likes of Jatta and Jones as yet, but that could change this summer if they remain in the fourth-tier. The Guardian claimed in January that the former was of interest to Championship side Plymouth Argyle, who saw a £750,000 bid rejected, while Portsmouth and Bolton Wanderers were also both believed to be monitoring his situation.
Jones, meanwhile, was claimed to be on Swansea City’s radar last summer, after he had broken the record for most assists in an English professional league during a season, and won the League Two Player of the Year award for his standout performances.
He signed a new two-year contract extension at the club in September to tie his future down in NG2 until 2027, so seems more likely to stay than Jatta does this summer, but a potential exit for either can certainly not be ruled out in the summer window, especially if the Magpies are not preparing for League One football ahead of 2025/26.
Discussion about this post