My Bolton Wanderers transfer deadline day dream involves Notts County raid | OneFootball

Bolton Wanderers head into the final day of the January transfer window with a chance of promotion and should target Notts County's Alassana Jatta.

With the end of the transfer window around the corner and Bolton Wanderers pushing for the play-offs with renewed vigour following the departure of Ian Evatt, there is a major opportunity for the Whites to make a statement.

Signing a striker or another forward should have always been a priority for the Whites, regardless of the signing of Cardiff City man Kion Etete on loan or interest in Stromsgodset attacking midfielder Jonas Therkelsen.

The departure of Dion Charles to Huddersfield Town for a fee of around £750,000 is further reason for Bolton to be prompted to be ambitious in the market this week to recreate the success of last year’s deadline signing of Aaron Collins from Bristol Rovers.

The one man that may well suit the Whites, now under the management of former Plymouth Argyle and Stoke City boss Steven Schumacher, would be Notts County’s League Two hotshot Alassana Jatta.

The potential of Jatta

Signed from Danish Superliga side Viborg in January 2024 for a fee believed to be in the region of around £125,000, 26-year-old Jatta has proven to be a prolific striker for League Two promotion chasers Notts County.

The Magpies boasted several impressive attackers last year, such as David McGoldrick, Macaulay Langstaff, Aaron Nemane and Cedwyn Scott, so he didn’t necessarily hit the ground running, albeit he still scored five goals in ten appearances last season.

This season, though, with the departures of Langstaff and Nemane in the summer as well as Scott this month, Jatta, alongside McGoldrick, has been a key man for Stuart Maynard’s side, notching 13 goals in just 22 League Two appearances – an overall return of 18 in 32 representing a very decent effort for a player adapting to life in England.

The Gambia international showed promise right from the start of his professional career, scoring 13 goals in 17 appearances for Paide Linnameeskond in the Estonian top-flight, hence the move to Viborg.

Having just turned 26, there will be a belief that Jatta is only going to get better and become more prolific with his versatility also something that could be key; having played across the front three during his career but solely as a striker for County this season.

How he would fit at Bolton

Bolton’s tactical shift this season is one that can perhaps not necessarily be reversed by a new manager given the limit in terms of the positions of players and lack of wingers, so they will have to stick with a back-three, wing-backs and then either two or three up top.

Last season, Bolton played a 3-5-2 but have this year played something more akin to a 3-4-2-1 or 3-4-3 with a plethora of attacking midfielders assisting the striker – something Bolton currently only have one out-and-out version of: Victor Adeboyejo.

As mentioned, Jatta has played across the front three but his previous spells out-wide for Paide and Viborg would allow Wanderers to be flexible in who they select and how they want to play, with the Gambian appearing ideally suited for that role.

Jatta has been performing very well and would likely cost a decent fee for a club that earned around £750,000 from the sale of Langstaff to Millwall just in the summer. However, if a deal could be struck and Bolton act quickly, it could be the missing piece that Bolton