Ogunjimi completes Real Mallorca move
Marvin Ogunjimi was presented to the media this afternoon at the Iberostar Estadi as a new RCD Mallorca player. The Belgian striker, who will wear the number 9 shirt for the 2011/12 season, appeared alongside the Vice-President Llorenç Serra Ferrer and he promised to “to help the team with goals” and he defined himself as “a true number nine”. Although he we will not be able to make an appearance in an official match until the 1st January, his arrival has been brought forward so that his settling-in period can progress more quickly.
It was Serra Ferrer who kicked off the presentation. “He’s a player form the Belgian league who we signed some months ago and who we loaned out and now, due to a request by Joaquín Caparrós, we’ve brought forward when he was due to join the team to December. It’s great that he’s happy to join us and take on this new challenge. He’s a good sportsman, a good player and I’m sure that his characteristics will be a perfect fit for this 2011-12 squad.”
Ogunjimi remarked that he was “very happy” to have arrived on the island because “it’s a big step forward for my career, I’ve dreamt since I was a child of having an opportunity like this” and he has a clear objective to aim at. “I’ve been signed so that I can score as many goals as possible”.
Because he could not be registered for the Spanish league on 31st August, Ogunjimi was loaned out to the Belgian side Genk, a situation that he recognises was “difficult”, but which “is now in the past”. Now, he wants “to help the team by scoring goals so that the Club can progress with my help and my football”.
Tomorrow, he will start work under Joaquín Caparrós and he is a manager that he knows well. “I know him from when his Athletic Bilbao team played in Europe.” Despite the fact that he has had a back problem over the last few weeks, this has now been resolved. “I’m ready to get back to peak condition. I was injured, but I’m now ready to get to work with the manager. I can start training tomorrow,” he said.
Twitter followers will have already known about the friendship between Gianni Zuiverloon and the Belgian, but today the striker explained that through the defender he has been able to keep a close eye on the Club’s progress. “From the day I signed, I’ve spoken to Gianni every day, he keeps me up to date with how the team is doing, so I haven’t really missed two months. I know that goals have been hard to come by, but that everyone is working hard to remedy that.”
Serra Ferrer later added that one of the best things about the Belgian international is that last year he scored 22 goals. With the player now in Mallorca, he finished the press conference by thanking Genk and the player “for their willingness and now all three parties are very happy.”
Ogunjimi has joined the club on a four-year-deal with the option of a fifth.