Livingston boss David Martindale says Jack Fitzwater won’t be sold on the cheap despite the defender entering the final months of his contract.
The 25-year-old arrived in West Lothian in the summer of 2020 from West Brom and is approaching the end of his three-year contract.
Martindale revealed he turned down a ‘disrespectful’ bid for the Englishman in the summer and could already be lining up his replacement with 6ft 6in Dominican Republic international Luiyi de Lucas currently on trial with the Lions.
Martindale said: “I’m not resigned to losing Jack in January.
“There was an offer for him in the summer and it was high five-figures but I wasn’t letting him go for that amount of money. It is the same in January, he won’t be allowed to go on the cheap - especially not to a rival.
“I’m not in the business of developing players and letting them leave for nothing, but I won’t let them go six months early and it negatively affects the squad. I have to think of the whole team.”
He added: “It has to be right for both parties but I am willing to listen to offers. You need to find the balance in situations like Jack.
“If I can keep him in the building and he could potentially get us three more points that gets us higher up the table then the fee we would get in January is covered.
“We won’t look at anything less than six figures and I thought the five figure sum we were offered for Jack was a bit disrespectful. He has played in the Premiership for two-and-a-half years and last season he was fantastic.
“If there is an opportunity and it is beneficial to both parties then he could go, but otherwise he will keep doing what he is doing.”
Martindale also revealed that he passed up the opportunity to sign de Lucas previously - and confirmed they won’t be offering a contract to fellow trialist Adama Diakhaby due to injury.
The Lions are currently in Turkey for a winter training camp and play Latvian side FK Liepaja on Monday.
Martindale said: “Diakhaby was with us but he injured his calf and he has returned to France, so there’s nothing happening there.
“Luiyi was with us last year. I thought his game time would be limited and I said to him to go and play somewhere and get some games.
“He went to FC Haka in Finland, played more than 30 games there and did really well. I looked at his footage and asked him to come back for a few weeks to have a closer look at him.”
He added: “I like what I see from him. He is a 6’6, strong, aggressive, he covers the ground really well and his use of the ball is decent.
“Luiyi would benefit us in both boxes as well and I think he would suit the physical Scottish game as he loves a tackle and a header.
“I like defenders who defend, but he can play a bit as well. I can work on that side of the game to polish a few things but I can’t make someone braver, or quicker, you can’t really change these things overnight.
“He has all the attributes that tick a box that says he has a chance of playing for me.”
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