Russell Martin believes that age was the main factor in the decision to loan him out last season.

The 32-year-old spent the second half of last season on loan to Scottish side Rangers. He only made five appearances in the league prior to that with Farke preferring Christoph Zimmermann, Timm Klose and Grant Hanley as his main centre-back options.

He only has one year left on his contract, so this is an important summer for his future at Carrow Road. Martin has been at the club since 2009 with his time at the club including three promotions and spells in the Premier League. However, his importance in the team is gradually decreasing each season.

Here's what Martin had to say about his future with the Canaries, according to the Eastern Daily Press:

"I really don’t know at the moment."

"I’ve got a year left at Norwich but I had to go on loan last season because I wasn’t in the manager’s plans. There was no real fall-out."

"He wants to go with youth and doesn’t want players over 30, so I was told. I think I’ll have to go somewhere else to play my football, so I’ll consider all options."

The Verdict

Farke has put his trust in youth to some extent with James Maddison and Josh Murphy both having starring roles in the side. However, this appears to be a bit of an excuse by Martin because he was really poor for Norwich prior to being loaned out, so that is likely to have had more of an effect than his age. Timm Klose is only two years younger than him yet he was a starter in the same position.

Selling Martin would be a good move this summer because they could still get some value for him before he leaves on a free in 2019, although Farke may have to bring someone in or promote a youth team player in order to make sure they aren't light in this area.