Scottish football cult hero makes shock move to Chinese second tier club

ONE year ago, his manager was insisting he was looking for a seven-figure transfer fee for his star man.

12 months on, this Scottish football cult hero has instead made a free transfer to the second tier in China.

The man in question is none other than Joel Nouble.

The towering striker, 28, had become a journeyman among non-league clubs in England before being snapped up by Livingston in 2021.

A free transfer from Aldershot Town, he penned a two-year deal with the Lions.

However, he immediately joined Arbroath on loan.

Nouble proved a huge hit with the Red Lichties, who put in a surprise challenge for promotion to the Scottish Premiership.

Nouble was so impressive for Dick Campbell’s men that Livi recalled him in January, half way through his loan spell.

The following campaign, Nouble became Livingston’s main man.

He scored seven times in 30 games and his impressive performances led to plenty of transfer speculation.

His manager David Martindale revealed last August that a fellow Premiership club had made an offer for Nouble.

But he stated that bid fell way short of the Lions’ valuation of the striker.

Martindale had revealed he’d hoped for a seven-figure transfer fee for Nouble, who he also said had been attracting interest from countries such as France, Belgium, Turkey and Greece.

Despite that interest, Nouble stayed at Livingston.

He failed to recapture the form from the previous campaign and ended up being played out wide.

Nouble failed to score in the league at all last season as Livingston were relegated to the Championship.

He was one of several players to leave the club upon the expiry of his contract.

Not much had been heard of regarding a possible new landing spot for Nouble.

That is until this week.

Nouble HAS now found a new club – and he’s travelled a long way.

He’s joined Wuxi Wugo FC, a club playing in China League One, one level below the country’s top tier, the Chinese Super League.

Wuxi Wugo finished second bottom last season and would have normally been relegated.

However, Dalian Pro and Shenzhen were both dissolved following the end of the campaign and that meant a reprieve for Wuxi Wugo, who remained in the league.

They took on Jiangxi Lushan in their most recent league game on Saturday.

And Nouble made his debut in a dramatic 2-2 draw.

Nouble, wearing the number 20 shirt, appeared as a second-half substitute, coming on in the 51st minute.

He isn’t the only former Livingston favourite to have made a move to China this summer.

Defender Ayo Obileye’s three-year spell at Livi also came to an end following their relegation.

He joined Chinese Super League club Cangzhou Mighty Lions earlier this month and made his own debut earlier this week.

Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page