"Really go for promotion" - Notts County worry surrounding Dan Crowley ahead of January | OneFootball

We asked our Notts County fan pundit what concerns he has ahead of the January transfer 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 have been told to strengthen their squad in the January transfer window in a bid to really target promotion to League One.

The Magpies have made an excellent start to the campaign and currently sit in the automatic promotion places, giving themselves a real chance of promotion if they are able to sustain this form throughout the season.

It's just their second season back in the EFL after winning promotion from the National League in 2023, and after a mid-table 14th place finish last year, they have really kicked on so far.

However, the club's hierarchy has been told to ensure that key players remain at Meadow Lane in January, and that a few shrewd additions could really see them target promotion.

Notts County January transfer demands outlined

We asked our Notts County fan pundit, Thomas Wagstaff, what his concerns are ahead of the January transfer window, and he believes that while keeping key players is imperative, they also need to add quality to their squad to ensure they continue their impressive start.

Speaking to Football League World, Thomas said: "My concern would be if we can keep hold of our key players, which would be Dan Crowley, I would have said Jodi Jones, but the fact that he’s still not back from a broken bone in his foot means there’s no chance that he will be going anywhere.

“It’s keeping hold of Dan Crowley who, on deadline day, did almost go to MK Dons and there were rumours that it was pretty much a done deal, then it fell through.

“I’ve also got a bit of a concern that we may not build on what we’ve got. Coming up to mid-November, and we’re in a really strong position, I would hate for us to waste that position by not recruiting properly in January.

“Put good players around those like Jatta, Jones, Palmer and just really go for promotion, if we’re still there.”

Keeping players Dan Crowley will be pivotal to Notts County's promotion hopes

As Thomas alluded to, Crowley very nearly departed for MK Dons in the summer, and while he remained at Meadow Lane, they can't risk losing him in January.

The Magpies have the core of an excellent team, with players like Crowley, Jodi Jones and Alasanna Jatta all proving to be excellent players in the division, and Stuart Maynard will be desperate to ensure they're still at the club come the beginning of February.

However, it's important they add a couple of quality players too, whether that be on loan or on a permanent basis, to ensure they have the necessary strength in depth to win promotion to League One, and January is shaping up to be an important month for Notts County.

If Maynard was able to keep their key players all while building on what they've already got, it would put them in an excellent position to win promotion and allow supporters to dare to dream of a return to League One for the first time since 2015.