Sebastian Soto the latest January recruit.
Livingston FC is thrilled to announce the loan signing of USA international Sebastian Soto from English Premier League side Norwich City until the end of the season, subject to international clearance.
The 21-year-old Californian forward started his youth career at San Diego Surf and Real Salt Lake before moving to Germany in 2018 to sign for Hannover 96 where he scored 17 times in 27 appearances for their U19 side – catching the eye of the first-team and quickly being promoted to play at senior level.
He made three appearances for Hannover 96 in the Bundesliga before Norwich swooped to sign him in the summer of 2020, immediately sending him on-loan to Dutch side Telstar where he scored 7 times in 12 appearances, including 2 on his debut, before Norwich recalled him in the January window in 2021 where he played out the rest of the campaign in Premier League 2 for their U23 side.
That form for Telstar seen Sebastian called up to the Men’s Senior team for USA (having already turned down a call up to represent Chile) and despite being an unused substitute against Wales in his first game, he came off the bench on the 77th minute agains Panama the following week, finding the net twice to mark a dream introduction!
The attacker has spent the first half of this campaign on-loan at FC Porto B in the Portuguese second tier before jetting back to the UK to join the Lions, where he’ll wear the number 12 shirt.
A delighted David Martindale said: “Sebastian was on our radar in the summer but we missed out to FC Porto but it hasn’t quite worked out for him over in Portugal and the opportunity came up again a few weeks ago and fortunately this time, we’ve been successful.
“Sebastian has represented the USA from under 17 level right through to the full national team and has scored goals at every level from 19’s onwards, including two against Panama for the senior side. He has played for Hannover 96 in the Bundesliga before being purchased by Norwich City so he is a really exciting signing for us.
“Last season he went on loan to the Dutch second tier, scoring 7 goals in 12 games before being recalled by Norwich.
“He comes with a fantastic CV and I’m looking forward to seeing how he adapts to Scottish football and as a manager, I’m relishing the opportunity to work with him and see what he can bring to the club.
“He can play anywhere across the front 3 but is predominantly a number 9.
“Sebastian has made a lot of sacrifices to make the move to Livingston happen so it’s refreshing to see the desire from the player to come up and play with ourselves in the Scottish Premiership.
“A massive thanks must go to Sebastian, Norwich City and the players agent for giving the club the opportunity to work with Sebastian over the coming months.”
Welcome to Livingston, Sebastian!
