Notts County have made the most of the ability to delve into the market of free agents today by completing the signing of former Championship and League One title winner Josh Martin.
The former Arsenal and Norwich City academy graduate has signed a short-term contract until January with the League Two side ahead of their trip to Morecambe tomorrow.
Who is Josh Martin?
Martin progressed through various youth stages of the Arsenal academy having signed for the Premier League giants at the age of eight. The winger signed for Norwich City’s academy at the age of 17 and made 16 first team appearances for the Canaries across the Premier League and Championship.
The 23 year old never managed to nail down a place in the Canaries’ first team and had numerous loan spells in the EFL with Milton Keynes Dons, Doncaster and Barnsley before being released by the East Anglian side in 2023.
Martin became a member of Portsmouth’s League One winning side last season and after a trial with Serie A side Como this summer has ended up signing for Notts County in League Two until January.
Why have Notts County signed Martin?
Given the short-term contract that Martin has signed it would suggest that this is a signing to add a bit of depth and cover to County’s side in the short-term. The League Two side were dealt a blow last weekend with the influential Jodi Jones limping off injured during their game against Gillingham.
Martin’s signing could suggest that Jones’ injury is likely to be a lengthier one than originally expected with the club’s director giving more details behind the former Premier League winger’s arrival:
“Right up to the end of the transfer window we were interested in adding another attacking option to the squad and, following the long-term injury to Curtis Edwards and with Jodi Jones continuing to be assessed, we felt it was important to take action”.
Also currently on the treatment table at Meadow Lane is Cedwyn Scott, Rodney McDonald, Lucas Ness and Alassana Jatta which leaves County’s squad a bit threadbare. The club will hope that the signing of Martin will fill a gap in the squad going into a busy period of eight games within the next four weeks.
What could Martin bring to Notts County?
One key attribute of Martin’s that could benefit Notts County’s injury pile up is his versatility. The 23 year old is predominantly used as a winger but has the adaptability to play centrally in a number ten role.
Current Leeds United manager, Daniel Farke, was Martin’s manager at Norwich and had high praise for the youngster:
“He is full of potential. He has technical and dribbling skills, makes key passes and can provide many assists and score. He’s also a very brave player with that special bit of creativity that you can’t learn”.
The former Championship winner likes to take on his opponents in 1 v 1 battles and link up play with his teammates. When looking at the stats from his 17 appearances for Barnsley in the 2022-23 season, Martin had a dribble success rate of 66.7% and a passing accuracy of 78.3%. These attributes will suit the role that he is likely to play in Jones’ absence.
Coupled with this is his desire to test opposing goalkeepers. Again, during his time with Barnsley the 23 year old had 1.88 shots, on average, per 90 minutes with a 75% shot accuracy. Martin also brings experience of being a part of title winning sides having won the Championship title with Norwich in 2020-21 and the League One title with Portsmouth last season which will no doubt help County in their promotion aims this season.
Martin’s signing may only be a short-term one until the New Year but his experience and quality may provide a lot of creativity and attacking threat for Notts County while they suffer injuries to key members of the squad.