Notts County: League Two raid may hurt more than Macaulay Langstaff exit | OneFootball

Dan Crowley's exit may well be a more difficult one to stomach than Macaulay Langstaff's at Notts County.

Dan Crowley is the talk of Meadow Lane after leaving Notts County to join fellow promotion hopefuls MK Dons this week.

It isn't the first time that Notts have seen a key player depart in recent seasons, with the price of failing to secure a consecutive promotion last season now seeing vital personnel and characters move on for other challenges.

MK Dons have landed a long-term target, having reportedly tabled an offer for Crowley in the summer. That came via Football Insider, who reported that last season's play-off semi-final losers and one of the favourites to get promoted from League Two this season had gone in for Crowley.

He is arguably one of the best players in his position in the division, which is why it is so frustrating for the Magpies to lose another core member of what was an excellent team, with players like Crowley, Jodi Jones, and Alasanna Jatta all outstanding players in the division as well.

Stuart Maynard would have been desperate to ensure they were all still at the club come the beginning of February. However, when news of MK Dons' second attempt to acquire Crowley came via Pete O'Rourke, fans began to fear the worst with their mercurial talent.

Dan Crowley leaves Notts County for MK Dons

Heading into the winter window, Notts were faced with a trade-off regarding Crowley’s future. The 27-year-old’s contract expired at the end of the current season, leaving the Magpies in a familiarly awkward situation.

In the eyes of many, if they had kept hold of Crowley for this season and got Jones fully fit again, then they had every chance of winning promotion. Without it, they were almost certainly likely to see one of their key men depart the club for nothing next summer.

However, if Notts chose to sell, they would lose one of League Two’s best creators, with very little time to replace him. They have decided to sell Crowley, with the attacking midfielder strengthening a rival for promotion in the process.

In many ways, it's understandable. MK Dons put forward a bigger wage offer and many footballers know they have a short career and so want to be paid well while they can. Although Crowley was settled at Notts, the money for both he and the club became too difficult to turn down.

That said, Crowley has been fantastic over the last year-and-a-half, and he played a key role in Notts' strong start to life back in League Two in both campaigns. It leaves a sour taste in their mouths to see a star player, after he was yet to sign a new deal after signing on for two years following County's promotion to the EFL.

It meant that their hand was forced in many ways, and January was always likely to be a difficult month for the East Midlands club as they looked to hang on to him.

Dan Crowley is a familiar feeling to Macaulay Langstaff

Crowley is extremely reliable in possession and proved to be deadly when Notts set up inside the opposition’s half. He is deceptive on the ball and his ability to draw men in and then turn on a sixpence makes him extremely difficult to press. It's clear that he has played at a higher level, given the amount of time and space he always seems to have.

The previous campaign was the 27-year-old's first in the fourth tier of English football, and he made some impact. Given the fact that he had played in the Championship and League One in the seasons leading up to the last one, it was no surprise that he put up astronomical numbers.

Crowley directly contributed 25 goals and assists in the league for Notts last year, while this season has been more of the same for the former Arsenal man, who currently has four goals and seven assists to his name, and is only likely to add to that in a strong MK Dons team.

That tally last season, alongside 28 goals from Macaulay Langstaff and 24 assists from Jones, should have had Notts in the top seven at an absolute minimum. Their defence was so poor though that they finished 14th in the end, which saw Langstaff move to Millwall in a big-money move for the Magpies.

They, and Notts, may still be expected to be in the mix for the play-off spots at the bare minimum, but losing Crowley severely dents their hopes of gaining promotion this season. It's a familiar feeling to Langstaff, albeit seeing him move mid-season and to a promotion rival in the process? That stings even more.

Their star striker departed under the right circumstances for an opportunity at a higher level, but there is no way to sell the Crowley move to Notts fans without a sour taste in the mouth. He had started the season with typically strong performances, and it was clear that Notts simply could not afford to lose their classy technician if they were to mount a serious challenge for promotion.

He was key to knitting many of their attacks together, having struck up an excellent partnership with Jatta and Jones already. Whilst overshadowed slightly by the incredible feats of both Jones and Langstaff last season, Crowley enjoyed a season that cemented his position as one of the highest-quality creators in League Two.

15 goals and 10 assists from midfield ensured the former Arsenal and Birmingham man ended the season in the division’s top 10 for goal contributions. However, the 27-year-old is far more important to The Magpies than just the raw numbers.

With over 40 games of Championship experience, the Notts playmaker brings a level of quality that is often above League Two level, and he has even worn the captain's armband so far this season in the absence of Matty Palmer, and since the departure of Langstaff as well.

The latter was named club captain prior to joining Millwall, and both Crowley and Langstaff were key leadership figures within the dressing room. January was already shaping up to be an important month for County, but it has been made even more difficult to navigate with a huge hole in the squad.

They will still hope to win promotion and allow supporters to dare to dream of a return to League One for the first time since 2015. Though, players of the attacking-midfielder's ilk are hard to come by in League Two and finding a natural replacement in the space of a few weeks may well be near impossible.