It has been a summer of immense change at Notts County following the departure of key players, like David McGoldrick, and the appointment of Martin Paterson as Head Coach in a newly revamped staff structure. But the Magpies have started making good progress in the transfer market recently, which they are trying to continue over the next few weeks.
Notts County Trying To Secure Return Of Heroic Goalkeeper
Following the departure of Alex Bass, who joined Peterborough United earlier in the summer, the Magpies were left with no established senior goalkeepers on their books.
They did secure the signing of Kelle Roos, who has played numerous games in the Championship for Derby County, before the start of the season, but youngster Harry Griffiths had to be named on the bench.
Paterson’s side desperately need high-quality competition for Roos, and, in order to do that, they are trying to sign former loanee Archie Mair, who was released by Norwich City at the start of the summer, as per Football League World.
Mair joined the Magpies on loan from Norwich City in 2023, after having loan spells at King’s Lynn Town and Dartford.
Although he only played six games for Luke Williams’ side, he wrote himself into Notts County history after he saved two penalties in the National League playoff final penalty shootout against Chesterfield, which won the club promotion to the Football League.
He started the 2023/24 campaign on loan at Gateshead in the National League, and his impressive performances earned him a move to the EFL for the second half of the campaign as he joined Morecambe.
Last season, Mair spent the second half of the campaign on loan at Motherwell, where he made two appearances.
Magpies Facing Competition For 24-Year-Old
However, securing a deal will not be overly straightforward, as Hartlepool United are also interested in signing the former Scotland under-21 international.
But, the Pools have just announced the signing of Harvey Cartwright, who played 25 League Two games for Grimsby Town during the 23/24 season.
The 23-year-old will be providing competition for Adam Smith at the Suit Direct Stadium. Last campaign, Smith was the Pools’ first-choice shot-stopper. He played 32 games in the National League and kept five clean sheets after displacing Joel Dixon during the early weeks of the season.
Writer’s View
It will be interesting to see if the Pools are still interested in signing Mair now that they have two senior goalkeepers with good pedigree, but neither Notts County nor Hartlepool seem to be particularly appealing options for Mair at the moment.
The Scotsman needs to be a first-choice goalkeeper at this stage of his career, and that status does not seem guaranteed at either club. Perhaps it would be best for him to continue at the PFA training camp and see what opportunities arise later in the window.
