Norwich City eye deal for 17-goal League Two forward amid interest from Oxford United and Wycombe Wanderers

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In an EFL Analysis exclusive, we can reveal that Norwich City are among the sides tracking Notts County striker Alassana Jatta ahead of this summer.

Unwanted records have hampered Norwich’s progress this season, even if in many ways, Johannes Hoff Thorup’s side have been the Championship’s entertainers this season.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
6	West BromWest Brom	39	13	18	8	48	35	13	57
7	MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough	39	16	9	14	59	49	10	57
8	Bristol CityBristol City	39	14	15	10	49	42	7	57
9	WatfordWatford	39	15	8	16	47	51	-4	53
10	NorwichNorwich	39	13	13	13	61	54	7	52
11	BlackburnBlackburn	39	15	7	17	42	41	1	52
12	Sheffield WednesdaySheffield Wednesday	39	14	10	15	54	60	-6	52
13	MillwallMillwall	39	13	12	14	37	40	-3	51

They have been hampered by chopping and changing too often, but Norwich fans have grown impatient in recent weeks. That’s despite an impressive home win on Saturday against West Brom to keep their play-off hopes alive.

The Canaries are just one of numerous sides in the play-off mix this season ahead of the run-in. They can be deemed as outsiders, though, given the traffic between themselves and other sides pushing for a play-off berth.

• READ MORE: Championship play-off dates, fixtures, and teams in Premier League promotion mix

Norwich City track Notts County’s Alassana Jatta

Josh Sargent is one of the best strikers in the Championship and firmly in the golden boot race. However, there is a high chance of Sargent departing the club this summer if the Canaries fail to gain promotion again.

As we previously exclusively revealed, Kellen Fisher is also wanted by Premier League clubs. It means a rebuild could be on the cards again, following departures of Gabriel Sara, Jon Rowe, and the like after David Wagner fell short of gaining promotion via the play-offs.

Borja Sainz is Premier League standard as well, with Sheffield United also sniffing around the Spaniard. Like Sargent, he is firmly in the mix for the Championship top scorer award, with both among the best players in the Championship.

Still, the links with Wycombe Wanderer’s Richard Kone could help in the attacking department, if he can fill the void potentially left behind by Sargent in attack. But he is not the only centre-forward on their radar.

EFL Analysis expert Graeme Bailey has offered the latest exclusive information. He understands that Norwich have joined the chase for Notts County’s highly-rated striker Alassana Jatta.

He said: “Jatta, currently the top-scorer in League Two with 17 goals, was the subject of a failed bid from Plymouth Argyle in January and a host of clubs are now tracking him.

“We can reveal Norwich, who are likely to lose their star striker Josh Sargent this summer, are one of those who have been doing work on the Gambia international.

“Jatta has been at Meadow Lane for just over 12-months after they paid Danish side Viborg FF just over £100,000 for the 26-year-old.

“County are still firmly in promotion contention and if they make it to League One they will hope to keep him, but there are growing number of clubs.

“We also understand that Oxford United and Wycombe, who could need to replace their own star forward Richard Kone, have also looked at him in recent weeks.”

• READ MORE: EFL Championship’s all-time top scorers as journeyman sneaks into top ten and Sheffield United legend tops the charts

Alassana Jatta’s goalscoring record at Notts County is impressive

It’s obviously a big jump from League Two to the Championship but Stoke City’s on loan Ipswich Town striker, Ali Al-Hamadi, has proven that it is possible and Jatta’s 6’4 frame makes him an interesting profile.

Not only that, but he has bagged 22 league goals in 43 games since joining County last January. Were it not for injuries, it is likely Jatta would be well clear in the League Two golden boot race. In total, he has 25 goals and six assists from 46 games in all competitions since his arrival to English football.

It’s clear that he is playing below the level he belongs at, be that League One or the Championship. Norwich will need at least one striker this summer and could bag themselves a bargain with Jatta, should they look to source signings from the EFL.