Livingston have signed South African winger Aphelele Teto on a four-year contract despite the 20-year-old having failed to receive a work permit.
It means the player signed from South African Premier League club TS Galaxy is likely to be sent out on loan until they can re-apply in January.
Livingston manager David Martindale says the willingness to wait shows “how highly we regard him”.
“He is a fantastic young talent,” he told his club website.
“He really is a special talent that is so different from any other 20-year-old I have coached or seen previously in Scotland.”
Martindale revealed that the forward, simply known back home as Teto, has been training with Livingston for a number of weeks after an agreement was reached with Galaxy.
“I’m writing this statement with a mixture of emotions – delighted that we have secured the signing of Aphelele Teto but disappointed we never got the governing body endorsement for the player to receive his work permit,” he said.
“As a club, there are a few avenues we can explore, such as loaning the player back to his previous club, TS Galaxy FC, or another top-tier side in South Africa, or indeed another African country where Teto will be eligible to play.
“For now, though, I’m delighted to secure his signing and, although he is now officially a Livingston FC player, fans are going to have to wait a little while longer before they can see him make his competitive debut for the first-team.”
Teto broke through Galaxy’s youth ranks to their first team and played 12 times last season, nine of them starts, as they finished 10th in the South African Premier Division.
He impressed Martindale and assistant Neil Hastings when Livingston shared a mid-season training camp with the South African club in Turkey in December and that led to an approach for the player at the end of the season.
