09 April 2023 , 21:30
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From ballboy at Middlesbrough to hard graft as a labourer, 41-goal sensation Macaulay Langstaff is the Rembrandt masterpiece Notts County discovered in the attic.
Striker Langstaff's shoot-out with Wrexham's 42-goal Paul Mullin at the Racecourse Ground on Monday has been billed as the biggest non-League game in history.
While Mullin has delivered the punchlines in Wrexham's Hollywood script, County have struck gold with the forward they signed for just £50,000 from Gateshead.
With delicious timing, Wrexham's shock 3-1 defeat at Halifax on Good Friday and County's 3-0 win against Wealdstone left both clubs on 100 points at the National League summit.
Before the month is out, one of them will be promoted back to the Football League – and the other will have to negotiate the high-wire drama of the play-offs, where Wrexham came a cropper in a nine-goal madhouse against Grimsby last season.
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Langstaff, whose haul has come exclusively from open play, was being compared with Erling Haaland earlier this season as he matched the Manchester City beast goal-for-goal.
But he credits his humble, unpretentious roots on Teesside for his incredible form and coming alive in the box like a Venus fly-trap devouring passing insects.
He said: “I was a ballboy at Middlesbrough as a 12-year-old and I'm still a massive Boro fan, but these past eight months have been special and I would love nothing more than to play for Notts County in the Football League.
“At the start of my career, I was working as a labourer for about six months and playing in front of around 100 people for Stockton Town before I managed to get a full-time job in football.
Langstaff has scored 41 goals this season, just one fewer than Paul Mullin (NurPhoto via Getty Images)“Getting out of bed when it was still dark to go to work motivated me to become a professional footballer.
“Jamie Vardy and Rickie Lambert, who went from non-League to England, had that motivation and desire, so there is a pathway to follow if you want it. Working in a factory stood them in good stead and they showed what you can achieve.
“Obviously I'm playing at a lower level than Haaland, so any comparison with him was just a bit of fun, but at the same time being mentioned in the same sentence as him gives you that bit of confidence.
“I haven't got Haaland's physical attributes but I can replicate the positions he takes up in the box because he scores a lot of goals at the back post – and if it's good for him, it's good enough for me.
“Although people say scoring goals is the hardest part in football, I don't believe that because I've got team-mates going past three players and putting it on a plate for me in the box.
“But you've got to respect what Paul has done for Wrexham this season and the comparison starts with the numbers we've hit.
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“He's a proven goalscorer, not only at this this level but in League Two as well, and he's had an unbelievable season.
“I've only spoken to him once, when we played against each other at Meadow Lane earlier in the season - before kick-off he came up to me and said, 'Hey, you're flying at the moment', which was very respectful of him.
Langstaff is hoping to pip Wrexham to the title (NurPhoto via Getty Images)“For someone who's had such a good career so far to give me that acknowledgement was fantastic and there's no rivalry between us. We're probably pushing each other on to score as many goals as we can.
“I've never set myself a goals target because if I set a target of 20 and reached it, I could have become comfortable with it and I never want to live in that space or become less motivated.”
County and Wrexham have scored 212 goals between them this season, with Langstaff and Mullin accounting for 83 of them. Ridiculous, but incredible.
Paul Mullin is Wrexham's own sharp-shooter (PA)It would be a travesty if they didn't both regain League status – Wrexham have been out of the EFL mainstream for 15 years, while the Magpies dipped through the drayman's hatch in 2019.
County boss Luke Williams said: “Goals make the world go round in this industry, and when you look at it now, we've completely ripped off Gateshead to sign Macaulay for £50,000.
“But that was their fee at the time and it's proved incredibly good value for money. It's like robbery, but we're delighted with it.”