By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
Scottish Premiership side, Livingston FC have signed Nigerian midfielder, Samson Lawal as the club’s sixth signing of the summer transfer window on Friday.
The 19-year-old has signed a three-year deal with the team ahead of the 2023/2024 season after joining from Nigerian side, Pro Succes FC. He will wear jersey number 40 at his new club.
The energetic midfielder is expected to travel with the team to Ibrox on Saturday but won’t be available for selection until next week’s Cup tie with Ayr United.
Lawal played all six games as the Nigeria U-20 team won the bronze medal at the 2022 U-20 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) scoring a goal against Mozambique in the last group game as the team earned a 2-0 win.
He also bagged two assists as the Flying Eagles thrashed Tunisia 4-0 in the third-place match of the U-20 AFCON.
As an integral part of the Flying Eagles, he also played all of Nigeria’s five games as the team reached the quarter-final of the 2022 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina scoring a goal as Ladan Boso’s side earned a 2-1 win over Dominican Republic in the opening match.
Men’s first-team Manager David Martindale said on the club website: “I’m excited as to what Samson will bring to the group of players we currently have here at the club.
“He has played a number of positions in his short career – 7, 11, 8 & 10 – and most recently with ourselves in a couple of bounce games as a 6 and he was fantastic there too!
“He’s a very versatile footballer who has not long turned 19 and I genuinely believe there is a huge amount of development still to come from Samson.
“Sam comes with a good CV having just returned from the U20 FIFA World Cup in Argentina where he played in every game and helped Nigeria reach the quarter-final stage where they narrowly lost out in extra-time. Nigeria beat eventual runners-up Italy in the group stage with Samson playing an integral part in the win.
“In March 2023, he played 6 games in the U20 African Cup where he helped Nigeria reach third place with a 4-0 win in the 3rd v 4th play-off. In total, he’s already played 12 games (over 900 minutes) for the Nigeria U20 side – 5 in the U20 World Cup, 6 in the U20 African Cup, and 1 friendly since March 2023 – that goes a long way in showing you alone the potential the lad has.”
