Davie Martindale adamant striker Joel Nouble will not leave Livingston this summer

Livingston manager Davie Martindale is adamant in-form striker Joel Nouble will not be sold in the current transfer window.

The 26-year-old Englishman has made an eye-catching start to the current campaign, bagging goals against Rangers and Hibernian in the opening weeks of the Premiership season.

Martindale believes that Nouble, who thrived during a loan stint at Arbroath in the first half of last season, can develop into a £1m striker if he has more time leading the Lions attack.

“I can guarantee you Joel Nouble will still be here at the end of the window,” said the Livingston boss. “I’ve had some bits and bobs of interest but nothing significant that’s going to change my mind about this window to be honest.

“I believe I would do what’s right for the player and the club but I genuinely feel Joel needs a good year at this football club. If I can get him into double figures, it probably puts another £1m on his value – that’s the objective.

“Joel’s scored a couple of goals and he’s been brilliant in the last three games but if we can keep that level of consistency, we can get him up to 12-15 goals a season. If we do that, then we’ve got a top Scottish Premiership striker.

“That benefits everybody, Joel Nouble and Livingston Football Club.”

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Max Stryjek is set to seal a move away from Livingston.

The Pole was the Lions’ number one for the previous two seasons but Martindale has had contingency plans in place for the likely departure of the highly-regarded 26-year-old by recruiting Russian Ivan Konovalov and former Colchester stopper Shamal George in the last two windows.

“Max has been down in England for the last few days and something will probably be announced today,” he said, speaking at his media briefing on Thursday morning.

“Shamal has come in and done more than enough to keep that number one jersey, he’s been magnificent for us. I’m pursuing another goalkeeper at this point in time to keep three in the building for cover and to keep pushing each other.”

Martindale is still on the hunt for an attacker, adding: “We’re still looking for that one offensive player that I’ve been looking for over the past few weeks.

“I’ve got a few options so I’m going to leave that as late as possible before I make my mind up because I think there are going to be potentially a few exciting options becoming available from Premier League and Championship clubs down south.

“I’m going to try and leave a space open for as long as possible to get the right person in.”