Rangers and Celtic told to make ‘outrageous’ bid if they want to sign Joel Nouble
Livingston manager David Martindale has told Rangers and Celtic, as well as English clubs, that they will need to pay a huge fee to sign Joel Nouble.
The 26-year-old has already netted against the Light Blues twice this season, on the opening day after five minutes and at Ibrox after just four.
Rangers came back to win at the Tony Macaroni Arena but could only draw at home to Livi.
“If somebody wants to bid for him, it will have to be outrageous because I would be doing Livingston and the players in that dressing room a disservice if I was to allow him to leave this building in January,” Martindale said, as quoted by the Daily Record.
“We’ve got ambitions this year and Joel plays a huge part in that. I see Joel being elsewhere in the summer. I spoke to him and was very honest about that.
“I’d be surprised if we don’t see some interest in him in the summer because he can play as a 7, a 9 or an 11. His numbers are getting better, definitely in terms of the wide areas.
“I’m looking forward to the next step in the evolution of his career. I’d love to see him down in the Championship and I’d love to see him maybe at one of the top two in Scotland as well.”
Problematic
There can be no claims that Rangers don’t know what he is all about having seen him twice give Livingston the lead very early on this season alone in similar circumstances.
Michael Beale might not be totally clued in but the likes of Ross Wilson should be telling him all he needs to know, namely that he scores every time he plays against the Bears this season.
What ‘outrageous’ means for the Premiership side will be very interesting as it could easily be a fairly cheap deal for Rangers should they opt to sign him.
It sounds like a deal won’t be possible in January which means he will come up against the Gers again at least once but if he does become available in the summer, it would be worth giving it a go.
Ryan Kent’s ongoing contract discussions could easily end with him leaving and returning to play in England and Beale will need a backup option should that happen.
In other Rangers news, another Light Blues player could be heading south of the border in January with a seventh loan spell potentially on the cards.