Brexit changes Livi’s transfer options
Livingston boss David Martindale admits Brexit has caused him to look closer to home for his recruitment plans during what will be a busy summer for the club.
The gaffer also confirmed talks have been ongoing with several English Premier League clubs about potential loan signings ahead of next season.
Speaking to the Courier, he said:“Around a quarter to a third of our market is abroad but with Brexit, I can’t do it now. It’s going to be very difficult to get anyone in from that market and we’ll never be able to attract the level of player who automatically qualifies for a work permit.
“It’s forced my hand to look closer at the British market, but the flip side of that is you’ve got to pay that little bit more. If you’re looking at bringing in someone from League Two in England, he’s probably on more money.
“So they’d be coming here for the right reasons – the exposure of playing in the Premiership – because they’d be taking a financial hit.”
He added:“Since I took over, I’ve had three or four of the top eight teams in the English Premier League contact me and say they’re open to working with Livingston.
“I think my story has highlighted the club a wee bit more and when these English Premier League clubs have looked into us more, they like what we do and they can see the career trajectory some of our players have taken.
“We’ve got potentially two players coming in from there where normally we were never considered because we couldn’t afford those players or we weren’t high profile enough.
“Players we did get offered from that level were ones who haven’t played first team football. The couple of options we’ve got are guys who have trained with the first team or who have been out on loan and played 50-odd games in League One, so they’ve got experience at a very good level.
“That’s opened up a different market for us and, to be honest, you’re maybe getting a more ready-made replacement coming from England than you would in the European market where you have to train the players up and get them used to British or Scottish football.
“Hopefully there will be a couple more signings next week and then I don’t think we’ll be a million miles away from what we need.”