Notts County's Stuart Maynard issues recruitment update as four new faces arrive

Stuart Maynard believes Notts County have secured the best in class at League Two level with their confirmed signings to this point as he prepares for his first pre-season at the club.

The Magpies have made four signings this summer, with defensive improvements being the theme of the arrivals at the club so far as they address the main issue that plagued the team’s performance in the first year back in the EFL.

Matty Platt, Jacob Bedeau, Alex Bass and Nick Tsaroulla all come in at Meadow Lane with high expectations based on their recent performance levels in League Two, which Notts are vying to get promoted out of next term.

Platt and Bedeau have been signed to slot straight into the back three next season, with the pair bringing some different but also some matching attributes that Maynard deems essential for centre-backs in his system.

He said: “There was a lot of other interest for him [Matty Platt], which we knew there would be because we feel he is one of the most dominant centre-halves in the division and we know his technical ability is very high.

“He’s a very good footballer as well as being able to defend his box and that is something that he hasn’t really shown in the last few years. His defensive qualities have come on leaps and bounds and he is someone we are really looking forward to working with.

“[Jacob Bedeau] is athletic, we know he can overload teams with the way we want to play with our outside centre-halves. It will give us a new dimension in the final third because we’ll be able to get the likes of Jodi Jones more time on the ball.

“He’s a defender first and foremost and wants to defend his box. Again, he is probably one of the best in the division at defending one-on-one and the underlying statistics show we’ve got a real player on our hands. There's so much more development within his game. He’s a really good footballer and has adapted very quickly to men's football.”

County used three different goalkeepers in the league last season in a position where consistency of selection is key. They hope the signing of Bass, who kept the joint-most clean sheets in the fourth tier last term, will solve that issue.

On their new stopper. Maynard added: “He was probably one of the top three best goalkeepers in the division last season with 16 clean sheets at AFC Wimbledon, which was a big reason why they were close to the play-offs.

“We knew that it was an area we needed to address in the summer so it is something that we have been working on for a while now and we’re really excited to see what he can do.”

Finally, fresh off winning promotion from League Two via the play-offs with Crawley Town, Tsaroulla returns to the division straight away with Notts providing some much-welcomed versatility and cover in the wing-back areas.

Maynard explained: “[Nick Tsaroulla] is someone that really impressed us because he can play on both sides as a wing-back. He’s left-footed and really brave on the ball - he can dribble but his work ethic is just as incredible and that also makes him very good defensively in one-on-one situations.

“His end product in the final third is good - Jodi [Jones] and [Aaron Nemane] have been incredible in those positions out wide on the attacking end but we need to make sure we have strength in depth.”