Under no illusions - Marko Marin

When the news broke that Chelsea had signed Marko Marin, I will be honest, I have never heard of him. Bearing in mind I do not really have the time to follow the other major leagues around the world and due to hardly being able to play Football Manager as religiously as I used to, Marin was someone I was unaware of. So I found a video of him and posted it up on here and he impressed me.

You have to say that Chelsea very rarely make mistakes with players, and after reading this interview with him below, he has received assurances from RDM that he will play a big part next season.

So over to Marin and the criticism he has received recently in Germany, the move to Chelsea and the challenge of coming to the Premier League. He said:

"There has been some criticism for me to deal with in the last couple of years and that is all part of growing up in this game, but I'm ready to prove I can be good enough to play at Chelsea. People can say what they want about me being lightweight and it has been said a lot in recent times, but all that matters to me is improving as a player and I believe I can make it here.

All professionals have the burning desire to play and I'm no different, but I need to raise my level of professionalism and to perform better than ever to make an impression at this club. Everything I have seen at Chelsea is a step up from what I have been used to, but this is a good thing for me.

Chelsea have a squad with alternatives for every position and you just have to live with that sort of competition. I know I will have to prove myself at every turn, but it's also fair to say that Chelsea bought me to play me. I spoke with the manager and he assured me that I was a big part of his plans.

Some people in Germany doubt whether I can make a success of this move to such a big club, but I have faith in my abilities and have not come here to be a failure.

As a foreigner, I will need time to adapt to the pace of the Premier League, but I'm very confident this phase will not take long. I believe English football will suit me as the emphasis here is on playing with a high tempo and making good use of the wings, which is what my game is all about. I am coming to the strongest league in the world and hopefully it will bring out the best in me.

The attention to detail at Chelsea makes an impression straight away. You can see that the big players here have an incredible force of character. They won the Champions League last season because they wanted it more than anyone else, showing the true mentality of winners, never letting anything stand in their way.

That's how they overcame Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Being written off made them stronger. Now, it's a case of moving on to the next set of goals -regaining the Premier League title and achieving more success in Europe."

Marin is an interesting one for me. He openly states that he wants to play out wide which gives us a natural option out there for once!. Maybe I have overlooked Marin already when thinking ahead to the new season, maybe I haven't given him enough credit on here so far.

As soon as, like he says, he gets used to the pace of the Premier League we could see Marin develop into a bargain and real find. It's important to remember that players need time to adapt so naturally he may take his time before we begin to see exactly what he can offer to Chelsea.

One thing is for sure, with the players Chelsea have signed and are rumoured to be chasing, it is exciting times ahead for us with a fresh approach to the game.

Let's hope that Marko Marin can adapt quickly and become a major part of that!

KTBFFH!