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1 week ago
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Football appears to be a small world but moving from the Gambia to Estonia still seems a little unconventional. It was a route the Notts County striker Alassana Jatta took when he left his homeland as a 20-year-old, desperate to make it in Europe as a professional. The journey from Sukuta to the banks of the Trent has been convoluted, complicated by absconding triallists, contract withdrawals and the weather.
Jatta’s CV is eclectic, featuring spells with Real de Banjul in his homeland, Paide Linnameeskond in Estonia and the Danish club Viborg. Currently he is second in the League Two scoring charts with 17 goals, spearheading the Magpies’ promotion push. They sit sixth, four points off automatic promotion, and face a trip to Salford on Friday.
“It was the first time I’d experienced snow in my entire life,” says Jatta of being in Estonia. “It was a little bit challenging in the beginning because my feet and everything was frozen. I struggled to untie my laces whenever we were done with practice. When I was in Estonia, I started using long pants, tights underneath, jacket, hat, snoods, gloves, everything. It was a little bit weird for me in the beginning.”
Paide has a population of less than 8,000 and the club’s ground holds 500. For Jatta none of this mattered; it was more about finding the first stepping stone in his career after starting with the Gambian side Real de Banjul. Jatta started taking football seriously only in his mid-teens and had offers to trial abroad early on but his father insisted he finish his education before considering Europe. Before arriving in Estonia he had trialled in Italy, only for Genoa to backtrack on signing him when another triallist ran away without informing the club. There was also a time in France at Bordeaux where a contract was verbally offered but never backed up with anything on paper.
Thirteen goals in 17 games in Estonia earned a move to Viborg in Denmark to keep Jatta’s trajectory heading in the right direction. They turned a skinny young man into an imposing 6ft 4in striker, ensuring he built his muscles so he could do battle with the roughest and toughest centre-backs. Jatta, who grew up as a Chelsea supporter idolising Didier Drogba and José Mourinho, is extremely affable company and lives a very quiet life in Nottingham. His only real gripe is his teammates’ desire for him to join them for a round of golf. “I’m not a fan,” Jatta says with a smile. “They tried to convince me, but still it’s not working because I don’t like golf.”
Jatta spends his free time walking around Nottingham or visiting local parks, happy in the knowledge the weather is overall better than in eastern Europe and Scandinavia. Notts and Viborg have the same owners but when the opportunity arose for Jatta to fulfil his dream of moving to England, it was not a foregone conclusion for him or the head coach, Stuart Maynard.
“Before moving to any team, I like to see the philosophy of the coach, how he thinks football should be run,” says Jatta. “His own perspective, that’s what I was really interested about. I wouldn’t do much research about the club … After speaking with him, I was really convinced that this is the right club.”
Jatta moved to the East Midlands in February 2024, quickly attracted interest from higher up and was the subject of bids from the Championship side Plymouth this January. He earned a first international call-up last year, making his debut against Kenya in March. The Gambia are under the stewardship of the Northern Irish head coach Johnny McKinstry and are an exciting crop of players, including Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh.
The call-up reunited Jatta with friends he had not seen for several years. “Sharing the dressing room and the pitch with them is quite an exciting moment,” he says. “And of course, playing with Minteh and all the other players around the world, it’s a nice feeling and it’s a good experience that we have to cherish because you never know what might happen later.”
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Jatta’s reputation is growing in England and the Gambia, where an increasing number of Notts shirts can be found and family and friends watch League Two football via any means possible. “Most of my friends have this jersey back home,” he says. “If you go to Gambia, you will see different clubs and players wearing jerseys everywhere. Gambians are so passionate about football and everyone loves English football.”
Gambians will be desperately hoping to witness Jatta take Notts into League One next month. “It will be a fantastic thing to achieve for this club,” says Jatta. “It will be something really, really exciting because that’s why I’m here, to help them get promoted. It would be a dream come true.” And if they do go up, Jatta has promised to join his teammates for a round of golf – not that they need any more incentive.
