Former Blackpool, Pompey and Wigan star joins 10th club of his career in left-field transfer

Former Blackpool loan star Viv Solomon-Otabor has found a new club having become a free agent this year.

The 28-year-old was playing in Ukraine for Rukh Lviv but has now opted to play in a different country and a different club, and that will represent the fifth country that he has played in and the tenth of his career. Solomon-Otabor has agreed terms with Chinese Super League outfit Cangzhou Mighty Lions for a one-year deal.

Cangzhou Mighty Lions finished 12th out of 16 teams last season and they will hope that Solomon-Otabor can turn around their fortunes. The season started last week and they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Beijing Guoan which left them second from bottom in the table from the opening fixture.

Solomon-Otabor was at Bloomfield Road for one season having joined from Birmingham City on loan in the 2017/18 campaign. He played 47 times for the Seasiders and got six assists and five goals, helping them to a 12th-placed finish under Gary Bowyer. His other clubs included Bolton Wanderers where he was before, as well as Portsmouth of whom he played in the League One play-offs with. He had a spell in Bulgaria with CSKA Sofia before COVID-19 hit and then returned to the United Kingdom, playing for Wigan Athletic and later St Johnstone, before ending up in Ukraine.

He heads to China where the craze of high-profile players heading there has died down, with the superstars of world football instead moving to Saudi Arabia to finish their careers instead. Former Chelsea and Brazil midfielder Oscar is the most high profile player to remain in China, having remained at Shanghai Port since 2017.

Tyias Browning, who played for Blackpool's Lancashire rivals Preston North End as well as Everton and Sunderland also plays in China and for Oscar's club Shanghai Port.