Notts County must strike last-minute Cardiff City transfer after Carlisle exploits | OneFootball

Tuesday night's game highlighted Notts' need for an additional striker.

Summary

Notts County’s 1-0 win over Carlisle United on Tuesday night highlighted the need for further additions to Stuart Maynard’s squad ahead of Monday’s transfer deadline.

The Magpies edged past the relegation-threatened Cumbrians, despite a tired second half display. Maynard’s men have now taken 19 points from the last 24 available, with Tuesday’s win continuing their recent run of good form over the Christmas and New Year period.

They now sit third in League Two and find themselves firmly in the hunt for the automatic promotion spots with 19 games left to play.

Tuesday’s showing made it clear that Notts still need an addition in a key area of the squad in the final few days of the window. Pete O’Rourke, of Football Insider, reported earlier in the week that Notts had won the race to sign Cardiff City striker Michael Reindorf on loan.

We are still waiting for official confirmation of that move, but it could prove to be a vital boost to the Magpies’ attacking depth.

Tuesday’s Carlisle victory highlighted Notts’ need for a striker

Tuesday night’s win was undoubtedly the kind of game that, as a team chasing promotion, became all about securing the three points and nothing more.

Notts looked jaded and short of energy and found themselves penned in during the second half by a Carlisle side who moved the ball well.

As the game wore on, Notts lack of depth up front became apparent once again.

Alassana Jatta was visibly struggling in the game’s latter stages, but was only able to come off during stoppage time when the game was all but won.

Similarly, David McGoldrick had to play all of the eventual 98 minutes and, while to his credit he still looked fresh even in stoppage time, there is now a genuine risk that he will not be fit to start once again on Saturday, especially considering Notts have to travel to face Gillingham for a 12.30 kick-off at the weekend.

As Jatta’s energy faded out in the last 15 minutes or so on Tuesday night, Notts desperately lacked an option to bring on and turn Carlisle’s defence back towards their own goal.

As a result, every time the Magpies cleared their lines up to halfway, the ball simply kept coming back. While Notts once again defended resolutely, they came under far more pressure than they needed to during the game’s closing stages, which could have been rectified by a striker capable of harrying defenders and running the channels for his team.

Across the rest of the squad, Notts are seemingly fairly well set for a promotion push. The likes of Jodi Jones and Curtis Edwards will be huge boosts when they are back to full fitness over the next few weeks, while Sunderland loanee Zak Johnson showed extremely promising signs on Tuesday.

New signings Will Jarvis and Charlie Whitaker should help to at least go some of the way towards covering for the absence of Dan Crowley, meaning it is really just up front where the Magpies’ squad can genuinely be found wanting.

Reindorf is inexperienced but could be ideal for what Notts need

Reindorf is highly rated by Cardiff, but having made just four senior appearances for the Bluebirds, it’s pretty difficult to judge the level of player Notts could be about to get their hands on.

The 19-year-old frontman came off the bench in the league games against Coventry and Preston in late November and early December respectively. His only start for Cardiff so far came back in August, when he notched an assist in the 5-3 EFL Cup defeat to Southampton.

Notts have had varying degrees of success with loan deals like this in the past, but the reality is they don’t need Reindorf to be a world beater.

The Magpies would benefit hugely from someone who is able to provide pace and intensity in the latter stages of games, in order to help prevent Notts’ defence coming under fire constantly from opposition teams.

With two strikers of Jatta and McGoldrick’s quality, whoever comes in is highly likely to feature almost exclusively from the bench.

As a result, any contributions Reindorf can make in front of goal would be a massive bonus, he just needs to be capable of providing a viable option to come off the bench.