LOSC playmaker Marvin Martin, who will spend the season on loan at Dijon, is hoping his move to the promoted club will see him get back on track after a difficult few seasons at the northern cub.

Long hailed as one of French football’s ‘next big things’, Martin, now 28, has fallen somewhat off the radar after his move from Sochaux to LOSC Lille Métropôle, but is now hoping that a loan spell with promoted Dijon will give him the game time he needs to regain the form that earned him a France call-up back in 2011.

“I will try to get back to my best here; that’s why I cam to Dijon,” explained Martin, who due to poor form and injuries has made just 38 Ligue 1 appearances for LOSC over the last three seasons. “Honestly, my main priority is to get bac into top physical shape. After that, I hope to bring my skills to bear and to be an asset for the team. That’s my sincere wish.”

‘Made me stronger’

Martin is aware that, given his pedigree, there will be heightened expectations at his new club, but he feels he is in the right place to move past the difficulties that have plagued him in recent years.

“I was really troubled by injuries, and after a certain point it’s true that you get demoralised; you think about it all the time and it becomes a kind of constant fear,” explained the gifted playmaker who came through the ranks of a super-talented generation at the Sochaux youth academy along with the likes of Ryan Boudebouz. “So it’s a question of regaining confidence, even though it’s true that things are going much better already. I’m convinced that I can hit my straps now that I’ve joined Dijon.

“At Lille, it wasn’t possible because I wasn’t getting any game time and they wanted me to leave. But I didn’t give up. I’m someone with a strong mentality. Everything that has happened in recent weeks has simply made me stronger. Of course it hurts when your club wants to get rid of you; I can’t say I took it all well at the time. But now I’m here at Dijon looking to enjoy my football again. I missed that.”

First things first

So what goals has Martin set for himself at his new club?

“Before thinking about the future, I want to take care of the present,” declared to midfielder who joins former LOSC teammate Florent Balmont at Dijon. “First of all I need to play. The club signed me for my qualities. I need game time and I need to start enjoying myself again. It has been a long time since I’ve had fun out on the pitch and I’ve missed it. Football is our profession but it’s also a game. Football is something magic for me. When I’ sidelined, it’s very hard to handle, but I hope to get that magic feeling back.”    

 

>> PLAYER PROFILE: Marvin Martin

>> CLUB PROFILE: Dijon FCO

>> TRANSFERS: All the summer moves


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