French Ligue 1 club Lille on Wednesday confirmed the signing of France international midfielder Marvin Martin from Sochaux.
Martin, 24, has signed a five-year contract with the northern outfit, who qualified for next season's Champions League play-offs after finishing third in Ligue 1.
"I am really very happy. I wanted to sign for Lille because they are an ambitious club who had been following me for a long time," Martin was quoted as saying in a statement issued by Lille, who gave no details of the transfer fee.
"Hopefully I can bring my know-how, but also continue to learn here."
Martin rose to prominence in 2010-11 when he played a starring role as an unfancied Sochaux finished fifth in Ligue 1, although he was less impressive last season as the club where he began his career only narrowly avoided relegation.
He has won 14 caps for France, and has made two substitute appearances so far for Les Bleus at Euro 2012.
Lille will hope the signing of Martin can help plug the sizeable gap left by Eden Hazard, who was sold to Chelsea for £32 million ($50.4m, 39.7 million euros) earlier this month after being named France's player of the year two seasons in succession.
Source: AFP
