Hindolo Mustapha has joined Notts County after his season-long loan at Wigan Athletic was terminated just five weeks after it began.
The Crystal Palace youngster only moved to Wigan in July, but his spell with the League One club has ended before he made a competitive appearance. Wigan confirmed on August 11 that Mustapha had returned to Selhurst Park, bringing an unexpectedly swift conclusion to a deal that had originally been intended to last for the entire 2026/27 campaign.
A Wigan statement said:
“After a period of adapting to his surroundings, it was felt that a change would be beneficial for all parties. Hindolo now returns to Selhurst Park to continue the next stage of his development.”
Notts County have now provided the 20-year-old with his next opportunity, giving Mustapha another chance to establish himself in senior football after a difficult period of loan moves. His departure from Wigan is particularly striking given the speed of the turnaround, with barely more than a month passing between his arrival and exit.
Mustapha had arrived with a strong reputation from Palace’s academy. He enjoyed an excellent 2024/25 campaign at Under-21 level, scoring regularly and earning the club’s Under-21 Player of the Year award, but translating that promise into regular senior minutes has proved much more difficult.
A season-long loan with German second-tier club FC Nürnberg in 2025 was cut short after he failed to make a first-team appearance. Nürnberg boss Miroslav Klose later spoke publicly about the importance of players showing the required attitude and application, although he did not single Mustapha out by name in those comments.
Another opportunity followed with West Bromwich Albion during the second half of last season. Mustapha made only two senior appearances there, including one FA Cup outing and a brief Championship substitute appearance, before returning to Palace at the end of the campaign.
Wigan represented a fresh start this summer under Gary Caldwell, who is currently in charge of the Latics. Instead, that move has become the latest short-lived loan in Mustapha’s career.
The switch to Notts County now offers him another route into regular first-team football. Martin Paterson’s side are preparing for life in League One after winning promotion last season, and Mustapha will hope Meadow Lane finally provides the sustained senior opportunity that has so far proved elusive.
At 20, there is still plenty of time for the Sierra Leone international to turn his academy promise into a senior career. After three unsettled loan spells in quick succession, though, stability and regular football now look increasingly important.
