Stuart Maynard might have just unearthed Notts County wildcard for promotion run-in | OneFootball

Having starred in Saturday's draw with Crewe, this man could be a wildcard in Notts' run-in.

Notts County winger Will Jarvis produced his best performance for the club so far in the 0-0 home draw with Crewe Alexandra on Saturday lunchtime.

Jarvis was a thorn in the side of the Railwaymen all afternoon, and showed signs of what could be to come over the course of his spell at Meadow Lane.

The wideman has struggled so far since his move from Hull City in the January transfer window, but his display on Saturday highlighted why Notts worked so hard to bring him to the club.

With Jodi Jones still sidelined through injury, and the League Two promotion race looking like it will continue until the final weeks of the season, now would be the perfect time for an unexpected source to step-up and re-vitalise Notts’ bid for a top three finish – Jarvis could be that man.

Jarvis looked a huge threat on Saturday

On the whole, Jarvis has been a disappointment in Nottingham so far, but on Saturday, he produced what was comfortably his best performance to date in a black and white shirt.

The former Hull and Shelbourne man has shown what he can do in flashes so far, but last weekend was the first time he has prolonged that across a full 90 minutes.

The 22-year-old caused Lee Bell’s visitors problems all afternoon, forcing ‘keeper Filip Marschall into a save at full-stretch in the second half, before he nearly won his side a penalty after being brought down inside the box.

Jarvis created two chances and completed two successful dribbles in Saturday’s stalemate, and he was arguably one of the Magpies’ biggest creative threats. As impressive as his attacking work was, Jarvis’ defensive efforts were also extremely respectable for a winger occupying a more deep-lying role at wing-back.

He made five recoveries and also won a total of 10 duels – a tally higher than anyone else in the game.

We have seen Notts successfully convert a winger into a wing-back before in Jodi Jones, and it certainly looks as if they will try the same trick again with Jarvis.

After impressing with eight goals and four assists in Shelbourne’s 2024 League of Ireland title win, Jarvis was handed a lengthy deal spanning three-and-a-half years by Notts. The club clearly feel that he is a player with huge potential for the future, and Saturday was the first genuine sign of that potential beginning to come to the fore.

Jarvis could be a valuable wildcard for Notts’ promotion bid

With the way Jarvis’ Meadow Lane career has gone so far, he had already been earmarked as more of an option for the future by many of the fanbase. However, his display against Crewe has perhaps highlighted that he could be an effective performer for Notts right now.

With the signings of Jarvis and Charlie Whittaker, the Magpies shifted towards a younger focus in the January transfer window, and it has come back to bite them a little in recent weeks.

The pair have struggled to have a consistent impact at League Two level, which has played a part in the team’s recent struggles. However, it’s fair to say that Jarvis has now given people around the club reasons to be positive about the impact he could have between now and the end of the season.

Crucially, the former Tigers academy graduate now has to hold himself to those standards every time he steps out on the pitch. If he can do that, he could become the perfect wildcard option for Maynard and his coaching staff between now and the end of the campaign.

With Jones (pictured) and Sam Austin still unavailable for selection, and Nick Tsaroulla struggling to start back-to-back games, Notts are in need of another wideman who can provide a consistent threat – Jarvis could be that man.

Maynard’s side have become too laboured and predictable of late, and they desperately need that injection of direct running that Jarvis can bring on a more regular basis.

With the transfer window now shut and League Two still as tight as ever at the top of the table, managers up and down the country will be trying to find someone within their squad who is capable of coming out of the fringes to bring something new to the table.