Russell Martin has confirmed that he has spoken with Michael Obafemi following his controversial goal celebration on Tuesday night.

The forward bagged Republic of Ireland’s second goal in a dramatic 3-2 win over Armenia midweek, which he marked by blocking his ears with his fingers.

This comes after a few difficult weeks for the 22-year-old at Swansea City. Obafemi was left out of the matchday squad against QPR and Sheffield United following a potential deadline day move to Burnley failed to materialise.

While he did make his return to the team off the bench against Hull City prior to the break, he received a negative reception from the home fans as he prepared to come on.

But the Swansea boss believes the air has been cleared on the situation and that the relationship with Obafemi is still very strong.

"We had a chat. What he meant by it is that there’s been so much noise in the media and stuff, he just wanted to play football," said Martin, via Wales Online.

"That was his way of saying, just block it all out and do what he wants to do, which is play and score goals. 

“Michael is Michael, we said all the way along, we really enjoy Michael when he’s at his best.

"Every young person, it’s up and down, and he’s had a fair few ups and downs but I've got no worries with how he celebrates a goal, it was a brilliant goal. 

“If he wants to show people he’s blocking out the noise from whatever angle it comes from, then that’s fine.

"His frame of mind has been fine, it’s just about deserving a place in the team and the squad. 

“He was back in the squad for the Hull game which was great, he had really good energy in training.”

Martin went on to praise Obafemi’s performances for Ireland during the international break, and has claimed that the young forward has arrived back at the club in the right frame of mind, ready to contribute to the squad again.

Swansea returns to Championship action on Saturday when they face West Brom.

The Verdict

Obafemi has been treated rather harshly throughout this process, with him being dropped from the team for two games in a row being a strange decision.

His performances for Ireland showed his talent, so it is a no-brainer to bring him back into the fold.

Swansea need a couple of results over the next few weeks, so having a player of his talent sitting on the sidelines would be ludicrous.

Moving on from this saga is now the right step forward, and the international break likely came at the right time for all parties involved.