West Ham United teenager Antonio Martinez has been hailed by Terry Westley.
West Ham United’s academy manager Terry Westley has told the club’s official website that he thinks Antonio Martinez is ‘clinical’ in front of goal.
The Hammers first team picked up a valuable 1-0 win over Hull City on Saturday afternoon, and whilst Slaven Bilic’s men won’t be in action until after Christmas Day now, the club’s youngsters played on Monday evening.
West Ham were in Premier League 2 action against Wolverhampton Wanderers at AFC Telford’s New Bucks Head stadium – and one man stole the show for the Hammers.
General view inside the London Stadium
Westley’s side ran out 4-0 winners, with Spanish striker Antonio Martinez bagging hat-trick, and Dan Kemp also found the net for West Ham in a convincing victory.
Martinez continues to shine for the West Ham youngsters though, as his hat-trick on Monday night takes his tally to 12 goals in 11 appearances for West Ham’s under-23 side since signing from Valencia over the summer.
The 19-year-old cost West Ham £2.4m (Daily Mail), and is showing that he has huge potential having scored more than a goal a game for the under-23’s, prompting suggestions that he should be in the West Ham first team.
West Ham academy manager Terry Westley
After Monday’s clash, manager Westley told West Ham’s official website that he thinks Martinez’s record is ‘frightening’, and whilst he can be frustrating at times, he is a clinical, out-and-out goalscorer who has performed exceptionally since arriving in England.
“Toni’s on double figures and he missed probably six weeks of the season,” said Westley. “He has come from abroad, has had to settle, has been learning the language. That shows just how well he has done. He’s an out-and-out goalscorer. He puts his foot through the ball and he’s clinical.”
“He can be frustrating because he’s not on the right side of the pitch sometimes when you want to play it up, but around the box he comes alive and to score double figures in the first half of the season at any level is difficult. You look around and some of the players who have played for us and have found it difficult, Toni’s record is frightening at the moment,” he added.
With such an impressive goalscoring record, Martinez must now be in the thoughts of first-team boss Slaven Bilic for a place in the side, given that summer signings Jonathan Calleri and Simone Zaza have yet to score in any competition.
Martinez has proven his quality at under-23 level, and with the busy Christmas period coming up, giving the Spanish teenager a chance to shine in the Premier League could provide the attacking spark that West Ham have lacked so far this season.
Would you like to see Martinez given a chance in the West Ham first team?
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
