'I will never give up': The agony of the Portsmouth and Norwich title-winner without a club at 23 and training in a park

Despite having just turned 23, Josh Martin has already accumulated an enviable haul of silverware in his fledgling career, in addition to Premier League recognition.

Yet he cannot currently find a football club to represent.

It has been four-and-a-half months since the attacker was informed by newly-promoted Pompey that his short-term deal would not be renewed, instead opting to embark on life in the Championship without him.

Subsequently, a July week-long trial at Serie A club Como under Cesc Fabregas represents the closest the former Arsenal and Norwich man has glimpsed new employment.

While the season enters its sixth weekend of action, Martin remains without a club, training almost every day on King George V Playing Fields to maintain his fitness.

Time marches on, yet he admirably refuses to relinquish hope that one day, very soon, he’ll be invited back to challenge for yet more trophies.

‘I thought I would have loads of interest this summer. I thought I’d be moving to a top League One team pushing for promotion. I believed I could just go and play. It hasn’t quite worked out that way,’ Martin told The News.

‘I’ve just turned 23, I’m young, I should be playing, I want to be playing. I still have that desire to be performing at the highest level possible - I just want to be doing what I do best.

‘There has been some Scottish Premiership interest, a bit of League One interest, I’ve had a few League Two verbal offers, but nothing on the table. People don't realise there’s a difference between a team looking at you and a team actually offering you a contract.

‘It has been tough to understand. I was in a similar situation this time last year after leaving Norwich. Back then Cambridge United came in with a really good package and, just before I signed for Pompey, Leyton Orient and Hibs produced similar offers.

‘This summer there haven’t been many options, though, and it’s really hard to put your finger on exactly why.

‘I thought I’d have more offers on the table, if I’m honest, especially after winning League One with Pompey. I expected more doors would open. John Mousinho said the same when releasing me and I agreed, I thought “Yeah, I’ll be fine”. My agent believed it as well.

‘It has been frustrating and hard to come to terms with, but I’ll keep working hard, making sure I’m ready to go when the right team comes in. My agent is doing his work and talking to clubs, so hopefully I’m sorted soon.

‘I’m not giving up, that’s not me. I know at some point I will get a club, it could be tomorrow, or the day after that. I didn’t know I was signing for Pompey until the night before, it can change instantly.

‘One phone call and I could be at a club, anywhere, I must be ready for that. You never know when the opportunity may come.’

As a young footballer of immense promise, at the age of seven Martin was signed by Arsenal - the club he supports - and spent the next decade as Bukayo Saka’s playing colleague and occasional room-mate.

Along with current Wrexham keeper Arthur Okonkwo, they were part of the Gunners’ under-15 side coached by Freddie Ljungberg which triumphed over Manchester City in the Premier League Super Floodlit Cup in 2015.

Then, in March 2017, he opted to move to Norwich for a greater first-team pathway, with Arsenal receiving compensation for a player they were eager to keep.

Martin made his Premier League debut for the Canaries 15 months later and totalled five appearances from the bench as they suffered relegation in that 2019-20 campaign.

Under Daniel Farke, they instantly bounced back to win the Championship title, with the winger contributing one goal in nine appearances, yet, following loans with Doncaster, MK Dons and Barnsley he was released in the summer of 2023.

Then, having relocated to the south coast to be with his Warblington-based girlfriend Clementine, Martin earned a short-term deal with Pompey in November 2023 following seven weeks training with them.

He added: ‘I was without a club and there were initial conversations between Pompey and my agent, but it had gone quiet. So I decided I would take control of myself and get in touch directly with Rich Hughes (Pompey’s sporting director).

‘I messaged him basically saying: “I understand chats are going on, I live in the area and would love to meet you. If you want to see me, let me know”. I heard nothing back - then a week later he responded.

‘I trained for a while, initially Pompey had too many players, but, when Tino Anjorin got injured, I signed. Mind you, at 11pm the night before I was either going to Hibs or Leyton Orient. Then my agent rang telling me Pompey had also offered a contract.

‘Do I feel I could have played more? Yes. It was weird because straight away I started two games in a week - against Blackpool and Burton - and I thought “This is good”.

‘Then, the next match at Northampton, the gaffer said: ‘“You’ve had a heavy load so we’re going to rest you and bring you on”. Paddy (Lane) came in, scored twice, and I never started again. Sometimes you have to put your hands up and say others are doing well and there’s not much more you can do.

‘The competition was really high last season, it was a Championship-quality team, but if I had been given more opportunities I know I could have performed at a level to contribute more. Sometimes that’s just how it goes.

‘It may have been different had I scored on my debut against Blackpool. I replay that chance in my mind every day. It was just too soon in my Pompey career, my previous game was nine months earlier (February 2023) and I was genuinely finding my rhythm again.

‘Abu (Kamara) played me in against the keeper and initially I wanted to use my right and put it around him, but I thought he might block it. So it occurred to me to chip him with my left, yet it was a bit too early for that. I over-thought it and eventually shot with my left and it was saved.

‘With five or six games under my belt at that stage I would have scored, but it wasn’t to be. Still, Pompey is a big positive in my career. I will always look back and remember with a smile how amazing it was.’

Martin made nine appearances as the Blues won the League One title with two games to spare, yet 48 hours after the city partied with jubilant players on Southsea Common, his Fratton Park career was over.

The former Arsenal man was among 10 players released by the Blues, among them first-team regulars Sean Raggett and Joe Rafferty, along with four-time promotion winner Lee Evans.

Challenged with seeking a new club for a second successive summer, Martin was optimistic his involvement in a title-winning side would attract plenty of interest.

While that never materialised, there was a week-long trial at Italian side Como, newly promoted to Serie A and with former Barcelona and Arsenal midfielder Fabregas as head coach.

‘My agent called to tell me Como wanted to take a look. I flew to Milan, spent the weekend there, then joined them on a pre-season training camp in Sardinia for a week,’ said Martin.

‘It’s going to be a massive club soon, they obviously have lots of money, signing players like Raphael Varane, and it’s a club on the up. Cesc Fabregas is also their head coach and, growing up as an Arsenal fan, he was my favourite player. Which I told him!

‘It was unbelievable to be able to get an insight into how he looks at the game, not just from a tactical point of view, but from a purer perspective in terms of what he thinks about football, which was a real eye-opener.

‘He's a really good coach, although quite intimidating to be around because it’s Cesc Fabregas, isn’t it! While I was there, I tried to learn as much as I possibly could from him, which can only make me a better player.

‘I was the only Englishman, yet the manager speaks about five languages, which helped. I was initially a bit intimidated by the Italian lads, but after 2-3 days I managed to integrate. They were speaking partial English and I was trying to learn Italian, but we were all together.

‘As a club, they liked me, but naturally want players of a certain calibre in terms of playing years in the Champions League, Serie A and the Premier League. This is a club with top, top quality players coming up against AC Milan and Juventus this season.

‘When I left, Cesc told me to keep in touch, then they spoke to my agent a couple of days after I returned home to say they wouldn’t be following it up. That has been my only trial this summer, which is pretty crazy.’

Martin, who recently moved to Lovedean with his girlfriend, has this summer once again linked up with personal trainer Warren Chebby, who previously worked with the attacker ahead of his Fratton Park move.

The tailor-made programme involves 90-minute training sessions six mornings a week at the revamped King George V Playing Fields, with Sundays devoted to the David Lloyd Centre gym, focusing on power-specific leg movements.

For the 23-year-old, it’s essential his training schedule replicates life with a professional football club, ensuring he’s at peak fitness should a team come knocking.

He added: ‘I went to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in July and watched Lewis Hamilton win his first race for more than two-and-a-half years. I was intrigued by the interview afterwards, in which he said it had been so long that he didn’t think he was good enough.

‘Someone as great as him saying that made me understand. There are days when you’re going to feel a certain way, but you have to stay positive, just keep on working. Good things come to those who work hard and don’t give up.

‘Whatever you’re doing in life, whether it’s sport, business, school or something else, you’ll get there as long as you don’t give up, I can guarantee it. Keep plugging away, you will get the rewards.

‘I have low points when I’m down over my situation, every footballer will tell you it’s like a roller coaster. What gets me through it is training, my Christian faith, having good people around me, the belief in knowing this is what you were made for. I have to remember I’ve played at a level for a reason.

‘In sport your career is a journey, you aren’t going to suddenly transform from a beginner into an expert, it takes years of sacrifice, pain and hard work. There are times when you feel “I can’t keep going”, there are times when you’re thinking “It’s going really well”. So many ups and downs.

‘Since my debut in the Premier League at the age of 18, I have come a long way, I’m such a better player now, a better person, a lot wiser. I wish I could give that to the 18-year-old version of me, but, five years later, let’s use all of this knowledge to perform better.

‘I believe if you’re being negative then you will get a negative outcome, it’s about trying to take a positive out of every single point of life. Wherever I am, there is always a positive, it’s a glass half full.

‘Training without a club is tough, sometimes you don’t want to do it, but the rewards are greater. I’m not feeling sorry for myself, I still know I’m blessed in life.

‘I always say the worst is never the worst, there is always a worst to come. I have a home, a family, I have my religion, and I’ll be playing football very soon. It’s not all doom and gloom, life is good, I’m not worried.

‘I trust my agent, I trust in God, I trust in myself to make that happen. In two or three years, I want to look back at this scenario and say “Wow, that was part of the process. Look what I had to go through to get here - now I’m in such a great position”. It will happen, I know it.’