Quick Facts
Biography
Marvin Emnes (born 27 May 1988) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays for Blackburn Rovers, on loan from Swansea City, as a striker or winger.
Early life
Born in Rotterdam, Emnes was a sprinter as a youth. Emnes played football for amateur side Xerxes before he joined the Sparta youth academy in 1997.
Club career
Sparta Rotterdam
Emnes made his debut for Sparta Rotterdam in the 2005–06 season. In the 2007–08 season, Emnes scored eight goals and was declared Sparta Fans' Player of the Year.
Middlesbrough
On 4 July 2008, Emnes signed a four-year contract with then-Premier League team Middlesbrough for a transfer fee of €4 million (£3.2 million). His début came in the League Cup against Yeovil Town on 27 August, getting on the score sheet in the process.
On 24 January 2009 he scored the winning goal for Middlesbrough in the 83rd minute against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup, with the score finishing 2–1. He made his first Premier League start on 11 May as part of a 3–1 away defeat to Newcastle United. His next start with Middlesbrough was against Aston Villa, in which he produced a man of the match performance. He was also given the "Player of the Weekend" award after two successful starts.
He scored his first league goal for Middlesbrough in a game against Swansea City on 15 August 2009.
Emnes went on trial with German club Fortuna Düsseldorf at the end of the 2009–10 season. Emnes did not sign for Düsseldorf, but he instead mainly sat on the bench throughout Gordon Strachan's reign in charge.
Swansea City (loan)
Emnes joined Swansea City on a month-long loan on 18 October 2010. On 23 October, Emnes scored his second league goal in English football, finding the net during his Swansea debut against Leicester City after coming on as a half-time substitute for Stephen Dobbie. On 7 November, Emnes scored a second goal for Swansea in the 156th South Wales derby, a strike which turned out to be enough to see off local rivals Cardiff City in a 1–0 win for the Swans. Despite pleading with Middlesbrough manager Tony Mowbray to extend his loan spell, Emnes returned to his parent club after the end of month-long loan spell.
Four years later, Emnes returned to Swansea City for another loan spell.
Return to Middlesbrough
After the season ended Emnes and strike partner Leroy Lita were linked with a transfer to Swansea for a combined fee of £4 million, a move which Lita made. At the start of the previous season Emnes had not been assigned a squad number by former manager Gordon Strachan but much improved displays under Mowbray were rewarded when in August 2011, Emnes signed a three-year contract extension with Middlesbrough.
Emnes scored in the opening game of the 2011–12 season, in a 2–2 draw with Portsmouth. Emnes followed this three days later by scoring his first hat-trick in English football in Middlesbrough's 3–0 victory over Walsall in the League Cup first round. Four days later, Emnes scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Leeds United on 13 August 2011. Emnes scored the third goal in a 3 – 1 victory over Barnsley on 16 August 2011. Emnes rounded off an impressive first month back as a Middlesbrough first team player, by scoring his team's goal in a 1 – 1 draw with Coventry FC on 27 August 2011, which was his seventh goal in seven games for the 2011/12 season. His start to the 2011–12 season was rewarded with Emnes winning the Championship Player of the Month award for August. Emnes scored the only goal in an away victory at Crystal Palace on 17 September 2011, a win which put Middlesbrough top of the Championship table. He scored against Derby County in a 2–0 win which was his ninth goal of the season. Emnes scored his 10th goal in all competitions away against Doncaster. Emnes' 11th goal of the season came in the FA Cup third round in the 1–0 victory over Shrewsbury. Emnes scored his first goal since November with a goal against Nottingham Forest on 14 February 2012. Emnes then went on to score 2 in the game against Millwall, the week after.
Emnes began the 2012–13 season by scoring his team's first goal in a 2 – 1 victory over Bury F.C. in the first round of the League Cup.
Return to Swansea City
On 31 January 2014, Emnes signed on loan for Premier League side Swansea City until the end of the season. On 23 September 2014, Marvin scored his first competitive goal for Swansea, on his return, in a 3–0 home win over Everton in the Capital One Cup. Marvin scored his first Premier League goal on his return to Swansea on 11 May 2014 in a 3–1 away win over Sunderland. He signed permanently with the club in July 2014 for an undisclosed fee, signing a three-year contract.
Blackburn Rovers
On 31 August 2016, Emnes signed a loan for Football League Championship side Blackburn Rovers until 15 January 2017. Emnes scored his first goal for the club in a 2–1 loss against Leeds United on 13 September 2016. After returning to Swansea in early January 2017, he re-signed on loan for Blackburn a few weeks later.
International career
Emnes was part of the Netherlands under-17 squad that reached third place at the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship. He scored two goals in the tournament. Emnes also made three appearances for the Netherlands under-21 side between 2007 and 2009.
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sparta Rotterdam | 2005–06 | 10 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | 1 |
| 2006–07 | 16 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 16 | 0 | |
| 2007–08 | 29 | 8 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 29 | 8 | |
| Total | 55 | 9 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 55 | 9 | |
| Middlesbrough | 2008–09 | 15 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 2 |
| 2009–10 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 1 | |
| 2010–11 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 3 | |
| 2011–12 | 42 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 18 | |
| 2012–13 | 24 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 6 | |
| 2013–14 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 1 | |
| Total | 141 | 24 | 10 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 161 | 31 | |
| Swansea City (loan) | 2010–11 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| Swansea City (loan) | 2013–14 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| Swansea City | 2014–15 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 |
| 2015–16 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2016–17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 30 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 39 | 6 | |
| Blackburn Rovers (loan) | 2016–17 | 33 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 4 |
| Career total | 259 | 39 | 13 | 2 | 15 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 290 | 50 | |