IF Middlesbrough’s financial situation in the coming months dictates that Tony Mowbray, as envisaged, is forced to turn to a batch of promising youngsters beneath the first team, it will not be a new scenario for Malaury Martin.

He might not have a reputation as huge as some of the summer signings that have arrived at the Riverside Stadium in the past, but the approachable Frenchman knows what it is like to play in a young team.

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IN

G Carl Ikeme Wolves, loan
M Luke Dobbie Everton, free
M Malaury Martin Blackpool, free
F Curtis Main Darlington, free

OUT

D Andrew Taylor Cardiff, free
F Kris Boyd Eskehirspor, nominal fee
F Leroy Lita Swansea, £175m
M Didier Digard Nice, free
M Julio Arca unattached
M Willo Flood Dundee United, free

Four years ago Martin found out for the first time what pressure in football was all about. At Monaco, he was one of a number of promising Academy graduates that had to deliver to keep their coach in a job.

Brazilian Ricardo Gomes, the Principality club’s head coach, was on the verge of being replaced at the start of the 2007-08 season after a run of six defeats in eight matches.

Ricardo looked to the youth in an attempt to get the seven-times champions of Ligue 1 back on track. It worked. Monaco lost just two of their next 11 matches and the rest of the country took notice of those responsible.

Martin was 19 and in good company. Djamel Bakar, Cedric Mongongu, Vincent Muratori and Massamba Lo Sambou were among those thrown in at the deep end, all contributing to the turnaround.

Martin, a former captain of the reserves, quickly clocked up the minutes in the French top tier and in doing so became a hot prospect.

Appearances for the Under- 21s along with Moussa Sissoko and Olivier Kapo were his reward, with predictions in the Parisien press that he would earn a senior call-up.

Despite a rapid rise to prominence, coupled with noted displays for the Under- 19s in the 2007 Euro Championship, it all started to turn sour in 2008-09, when Gomes sent him on loan to Nimes. Then Gomes’ successor, Guy Lacombe, let him join Blackpool last summer for free.

He hoped the opportunity to play in the Premier League would take his career to new heights, having previously been mentioned in the same sentences as other former Monaco graduates Lilian Thuram, Emmanuel Petit, Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet.

“The French academy system works well,” said Martin, who was not one of those to have attended the reputable national football school at Clairefontaine.

“I went to Clairefontaine many times with the French national team, but there is also more to the coaching of footballers in France than the national centre.

“France football has worked very hard to get to the standard where they develop top footballers. It’s all about giving young players the best possible start. It was great for me and helped me through.”

Martin feels enormous disappointment that he did not succeed at Blackpool.

The reality, however, is that he suffered a knee injury in pre-season which curtailed his hopes for a bright start.

Even when he did recover, Blackpool boss Ian Holloway was reluctant to throw him in at such a key stage of the season, which ultimately ended in relegation and without as much as a single first team appearance for the man from Nice.

“I played eight years at Monaco, but it was my decision to come to England because the coach didn’t give me a chance,” said Martin. “I wanted a chance at Blackpool, but my knee was a big problem there though.

“I was fit for three months last season, so my confidence is high now, but it was frustrating to start life at Blackpool like that. I just want to play a lot of football now – hopefully here at Middlesbrough.”

Despite being a defensive midfielder, he prefers to think of himself as more forward-thinking than most who operate in that role. He would have preferred to have shown his skills in the topflight, but he is happy to try to ensure he does that with Middlesbrough after a year in the Championship.

“I am happy to have signed here. This club has plenty ambition and the gaffer is a fantastic manager. It’s all good,” said the 22-year-old.

“This is a big change for me, but this is a very professional squad, a really big club with a lot of backing and structure behind it.

“Blackpool was different.

It was a great place to play, but that’s behind me now. I see my future with Middlesbrough. It’s difficult for me because English fans don’t know me. I came over here and spent the first six months out with a knee injury.”

Should Middlesbrough fans be worried or encouraged after a preseason that included defeats to Carlisle and Darlington?

Martin, who has signed an initial one-year deal, said: “We had some good and bad results in pre-season, but that’s just because you play so many games in such a short space of time.

“There have been plenty changes, so I have a very good chance this season and I am very excited. It’s fantastic to be in England and I just want to make sure I am a success here.”