Notts County must move quickly to solve Jodi Jones issue: View | OneFootball

With confirmation coming that Jodi Jones will be out until at least January, Notts County need to replace their star man as soon as possible.

Key Takeaways

With confirmation coming that Jodi Jones will be sidelined until at least the new year, Notts County boss Stuart Maynard must now find a replacement for one of his star men.

Jones, who was on the receiving end of a heavy challenge during Notts’ defeat to Gillingham, has excelled since arriving at Meadow Lane and finished last season with an English record-breaking tally of 24 assists, to go alongside six league goals.

He’d started this season in similar fashion, with four goals and three assists to his name from six league appearances before picking up the injury.

The former Coventry man has cemented himself as one of the division’s stand-out players, and it is undoubtedly an extremely difficult task to replace a player of that quality at League Two level, but that is exactly the challenge facing Maynard and Notts.

Nick Tsaroulla is the most likely option

Saturday’s draw to Morecambe highlighted the difficulties that Notts may face without Jones.

The former Coventry man’s ability to play off either flank provides Maynard and his coaching staff with the luxury of always having at least one of their wing-backs capable of going on the outside of their man and driving to the by-line.

If Notts don’t find a way to replicate the threat their star man provides, their possession-heavy style may risk becoming too one-paced, and they could struggle to threaten opponents in-behind their defensive line.

In Jones’ absence against Morecambe on Saturday, Maynard opted to invert his wing-back pairing of Nick Tsaroulla and Sam Austin, and it proved to be a decision which left Notts far too narrow.

With the wing-backs looking to come inside most of the time, it meant crosses were primarily arriving from deep, which, without Alassana Jatta in the side, were pretty ineffective.

Tsaroulla was taken off with half an hour to play and Austin switched to the right-hand side, which eventually led to him latching onto Dan Crowley’s clever through ball and firing in the low cross that saw Matty Platt equalise from close range.

Although his performance was disappointing on Saturday, Tsaroulla is likely the best option for Notts.

The only other left-footed wing-back option at the club, Tsaroulla, operating on the left flank, will provide the closest thing to Jones Notts can get at the minute.

The 25-year-old has struggled at times when playing on the right so far this season, as he did on Saturday, but has put in some impressive displays from the left, most notably winning the penalty that salvaged a draw against Fleetwood.

Kellan Gordon made his first start and scored in last week’s EFL Trophy win at Burton Albion, but with him absent on Saturday and still building up his fitness, it will likely be Sam Austin playing on the right flank on most occasions. While he's a reliable option and brings valuable energy, Austin simply doesn’t have the pace or one against one ability to threaten defences in the same way that Jones does.

With this in mind, Tsaroulla is comfortably Notts’ best option to replicate the direct, dynamic wing-play that Jones provided them.

Josh Martin provides a timely boost in Notts’ wide areas

Notts dipped into the free agent market on Friday to bring winger Josh Martin to the club and with Jones’ injury confirmed over the weekend, it certainly provides a welcome addition.

The 23-year-old winger made his first appearance since March 2nd on Saturday, when he came off the bench in the 61st minute on Saturday.

While he’ll need time to bed in and adapt to Notts’ system, the former Portsmouth and Norwich man looked bright when he got on the ball at Morecambe.

Stuart Maynard said post-match on Saturday that Martin’s arrival didn’t come as a result of Jones’ injury, saying: “Josh Martin was coming in no matter what. Right at the end of the transfer window, I talked about probably being one or maybe two short for the squad to go all the way through until January.

“We were always looking to add one and he was on a free transfer. That’s the only market that we can go into and we believe we’ve signed a good player there.”

While it was only a short cameo on Saturday, Martin did look capable of potentially providing a similar skillset to Jones, but early signs suggest he’ll likely be less secure than Notts’ other options in the defensive third of the pitch.

With the 2024/25 season beginning to reach full flow, it’s important the Magpies adapt well and find a solution sooner rather than later, or they risk losing valuable points in their push for the push towards the top end of the League Two table.