Nigeria Content Online

Nigerian
international striker, Obafemi Martins, on-loan from Russian club,
Rubin Kazan, has now been permanently transferred to English club
Birmingham.

Martins, 26, joined
Birmingham during the January transfer window with an option to make
the move permanent at the end of the season. But it seems that a deal
was agreed quicker than expected and the former Newcastle man will now
stay in England. ‘Obagoal’ as he is famously known had been sold to
Russia for around £15m.

Martins had
revealed earlier in the week that he was forced to leave Newcastle for
Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga because relegated Newcastle told him they
could not afford to continue to pay him. Birmingham had already paid a
fee of £500,000 for Martins’ loan move.

Martins played his
second game for Birmingham on Tuesday against his former side,
Newcastle, which they lost 2-0. But he said before the match that he
was misrepresented by a section of the Newcastle media who wrote that
he had demanded a transfer from the Magpies to Wolfsburg.

The player who celebrates his goals with somersaults said he still has fond recollections of his stay with Newcastle.

“The only bad memory was when we got relegated.

“We (Newcastle
players) kept asking ourselves, ‘Why are we relegated?’ and we don’t
even know ourselves why we were relegated. We don’t know what was wrong
with the team. There was a problem with the chairman (Mike Ashley), who
we didn’t know whether he was going to stay or sell but Alan Shearer
tried to save the team but he didn’t and it was a sad story.

“It was normal when
I left because they couldn’t afford the money. And that’s why they
asked me to go. “It was definitely the lowest point of my career and it
affected me because when I went to Germany my profile was lower and
they knew my team had got relegated.”

Before the
permanent move to Birmingham was revealed on Wednesday, Martins had
openly expressed desire to stay in the English Premiership with
Birmingham. With the deal concluded, he now has his wish and can repay
his boss, Alex McLeish, with the goals that will keep the 17th placed
club in the Premiership.

Martin scored 39 goals in 105 appearances, in three seasons with
Newcastle – which translates to one goal in three matches. When he
files out with the club on February 26 against defending champions,
Chelsea, at Stamford Bridge, ‘Obagoal’ will be expected to score his
first goal for his club to celebrate his move.