Notts County have made their first splash in the transfer market with the signing of Matthew Dennis after his departure from Carlisle United.
The 23-year-old joined The Blues for the latter half of last season, with six goals and one assist across 14 appearances and was the club’s top scorer. United, under former Bradford City boss Mark Hughes, could not prevent their relegation from League Two in 23rd place.
Magpies Beat Rivals
Dennis was a key target for multiple top League Two sides this window, with Football League World reporting that both Walsall and the promoted Port Vale were interested, but had been beaten to the transfer by County. The forward joins just days after the announcement of David McGoldrick’s departure from Meadow Lane to join Milton Keynes Dons as exclusively revealed by The Real EFL.
County announced the move on Wednesday, with the Norwich City academy graduate joining on a three-year contract. Speaking about the transfer, Director of Football Roberto Gagliardi said:
“While Matthew’s goals return and overall performances at Carlisle prove he is more than capable of making an immediate impact at this level, we’re very excited about his potential to improve across the duration of his contract.
“Importantly, he has very strong natural attributes in terms of his pace, power and stature – and he had a really strong grounding as a young player in two top academies.
“Matthew hasn’t always been deployed as an out-and-out striker and we definitely feel he can cover various attacking positions within our system.”
Writers’ View
Matthew Dennis can be seen as the replacement for David McGoldrick as Notts County look to fill the void left behind by The Magpies icon. Dennis was the bright spark that gave Carlisle United half a chance of survival under Mark Hughes and did admirably despite ultimately falling short. He has taken his opportunities in League Two before, both with Carlisle and Milton Keynes Dons and alongside Alassana Jatta, County have two forwards that can be dominant in the air. Attention now turns to finding a replacement for Stuart Maynard following his sacking last month.
