Morecambe bring in former Manchester City and Coventry City youngster

Having trained with the club over the last two weeks, the 29-year-old has agreed a deal with the Shrimps until the end of the season.

A former England international at U18 and U19 level, Hiwula had been a free agent since leaving Ross County in September 2023.

Brannan said of his latest arrival: “He’s looked really sharp to be honest and he provides more competition up front for Ged (Garner), Julian (Larsson) and Charlie (Brown).

“He’s proven at the level. He’s scored a lot of good goals in his career and we’ve seen in training that he only needs one touch and it’s in the goal – we’re looking forward to seeing what he can do in matches.”

Having initially come through the youth ranks at Manchester City, Hiwula had loan spells with Yeovil Town and Walsall – averaging almost a goal every other game for the latter.

Huddersfield Town signed him for an undisclosed fee in 2015, giving the striker a three-year contract in the process, though he only made a substitute appearance in that time.

More regular football came with further loan moves, as Hiwula featured for Wigan Athletic, Walsall, Bradford City and Fleetwood Town.

After scoring 12 goals in all competitions for Fleetwood in the 2017-18 season, Hiwula joined Coventry City on a two-year deal in 2018 and scored 17 goals in 61 appearances.

He was released at the end of that contract, joining Portsmouth the following season before moving to Doncaster Rovers in the summer of 2021.

Twelve months in South Yorkshire followed before he joined Ross County in 2022, having agreed a two-year deal.

However, he left the club halfway through that contract after scoring four times in 27 games.

Speaking of his move to Morecambe, Hiwula said: “I’m excited and happy now we’ve finally got it over the line.

“I feel this is a perfect opportunity for me to come and play the remaining games of the season, hopefully we can do something special.

“There’s a really good bunch of lads here, everyone has been welcoming as well so I’ve enjoyed it so far.”